Book excerpt: This edited collection will examine the way in which cities are imagined, experienced and shaped by those who reside within them, those who manage or govern them, and those who, as visitor, tourist or traveller, pass through them. Attention will be paid to the influence that these various inhabitants have on city life and living and the dialectic that exists between their sometimes collective and sometimes divergent, perceptions and uses of city space. In conjunction with this, the collection will explore the ways in which local culture and cultural policy are used by public and private interests as the framework for changing the image and amenity of the city in order to raise its profile and attract tourists. The book contributes to discussions of the increasingly high profile place that cultural programs have in urban regeneration initiatives and explore the tensions, conflicts and negotiations that emerge in urban spaces as a result of policy and culture coming together. Papers will be sought from researchers around the world with a view to examining the nexus between tourism, leisure and cultural programming from a number of perspectives and with reference to a range of international case studies. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events.