Volumen 31 (2012): Edición 4 (December 2012)

This paper pinpoints the problematic use of grouping creative people as a social class. Observations of the ‘creative clusters’ in Lower East Side (New York) and Islington Mill (Manchester) are used to illustrate this point. Instead, creative actors should be seen as a unique blend of work practices, and have different philosophical and aesthetic appreciation of art, which in turn influences their spatial and geographical consumption patterns inside a building and/or city. This observation questions the use of ‘class’ in Richard Florida’s (2002) The rise of the Creative Class, and consequently asks if place-making practitioners should adopt one-size-fits-all creative policies

This paper focuses attention on a quantitative analysis of the creative sector. After a selective and concise literature review, it discusses three important methodological advances, viz. a spatial-econometric approach, a non-parametric business performance analysis based on Data Envelopment Analysis, and finally, a comprehensive and integrated modelling framework in which a so-called ‘Flying Disc’ model is used as a tool for specifying and estimating a Structural Equations Model. The paper offers finally some concluding remarks.

Research has devoted considerable attention to the contribution of cultural and creative industries (CCIs) to economic growth and innovation. Measuring and evaluative tools have played an increasingly important role in meeting the demand for the accountability of public money supporting this sector. Nevertheless, creativity remains an elusive subject for policy-makers. One of the major obstacles in adopting CCI policies is the difficulty in apprehending the value of support actions for cultural and creative enterprises. The present research is a first attempt to create a harmonised and simple set of indicators (the ‘benchmarking raster’) to assess local policies targeting economic development of CCIs. It has been completed in the framework of the INTERREG- funded CREA.RE network with the aim to encourage the authorities of small and medium-sized cities and regions to further invest Structural Funds in CCIs. It is also expected to contribute to CCI-focused economic development strategies (or Smart Specialisation Strategies).

The present article intends to contribute to the literature and research agenda regarding the importance of the creative economy as a driver for the revitalisation and development of small and medium-sized cities in Europe. Several studies argue that these territorial areas are necessarily doomed to failure and decline due to the lack of critical mass and density in terms of economic and institutional resources. However, some small towns are changing their development path towards a new ‘urban’ paradigm. The present research aims to identify and analyse a set of dimensions that have to be taken into consideration in the implementation of creative-based strategies in small and medium-sized cities, namely: governance factors, endogenous factors, and territorial embeddedness.

The purpose of this paper is to suggest an empirical model to assess personal characteristics and creative behaviour among creative workers in Indonesia’s creative industries. It is critical for people to do their best to ensure and realise that creativity is one of the most important elements in order to achieve high performance. Although a few previous studies have focused on the understanding of how the myriad of interacting potential creators can foster their performance, the characteristics and behaviour patterns of Indonesia’s creative workers are not well identified yet. Considering this, a new measure has been developed and evaluated with a group of creative workers (N = 220). This study presents data supporting the reliability (internal consistency) and validity (criterion and construction) of this multidimensional instrument. The results of factor analysis indicated a fivefactor solution. These factors demonstrated adequate internal consistency and correlations with the established measures of the Big-Five personality (e.g. the NEO-FFI of Costa & McCrae 1992). It was found that the most important elements determining the characteristics of creative people are enthusiasm, a low depression level, self-discipline, trust, and ideas.

Culture-oriented activities conducted by diverse actors in selected urban areas may lead to the formation of unique quarters of production and consumption of cultural goods and services which function both as creative hubs and leisure spaces. Such cultural quarters may develop spontaneously or as a result of official designation and major public investment. Referring to the debate on cultural quarters in Western Europe, this article aims to examine the issue of the spatial concentration of cultural and creative activities within a selected large city in Poland. The author analyses recent transformations of two historic quarters in Cracow (Kazimierz and Podgórze) and considers the extent to which both areas can be regarded as successful cultural quarters. She describes their emergence and the changes observed in them in terms of groupings, character and number of creative-sector firms established there, pondering whether their role is limited to a function as centres of commercial cultural entertainment and night-life consumption, or whether they indeed stimulate the development of a creative economy.

As the positive economic and social impacts of the creative economy on regions are evident, many regions and local policy makers aim to attract creative industries and creative people by offering adequate spaces and framework conditions (Musterd & Murie 2010). Beside other efforts, creative quarters are initiated artificially by top-down governance. Based on the assumption that creatives (bohemians, core of the creative class) need a certain amount of autonomy and do not want to be instrumentalised, initiating creative quarters top-down seems to be difficult. This paper analyses different ways of governance to develop creative quarters in the range of top-down, bottom-up and co-governance. By reference to three quarters (located in the Ruhr area, Germany) which have been developed by different ways of governance, the research derives ideal governance structures and processes to develop creative quarters considering practical opportunities and limitations.

As culture and the arts gain importance within the agendas of cities, the operation of urban creative clusters is manifested as an effective planning tool for rundown neighbourhoods. Artists and cultural businesses (galleries, theatres, design offices, fashion designers, etc.) form a unique and distinctive sector among other sectors of the economy; their effect on the development and image of a particular neighbourhood can be very important. As part of wider urban processes, city marketing and city branding techniques are often used in order to promote the change in these neighbourhoods and, ideally, prevent negative social effects. The main goal of this paper is to present the experience and implications of the - mostly accidental - formation of a creative cluster in Athens (in the areas surrounding the Athenian part of Piraeus Street) and to critically evaluate the potential role of branding, drawing on the experience of similar efforts in other European cities.

This paper is focused on the role of cultural and creative industries in the regeneration of the inner city of Ostrava. The first part outlines the basic relationship of cultural and creative industries and urban areas in market economies, with emphasis on industrial cities. Ostrava is a post-socialist city, therefore essential characteristics of one are briefly given. The empirical part presents three case studies demonstrating the impact of cultural and creative industries on the regeneration of the inner city of Ostrava. In the conclusion, the case studies are discussed in a comparative perspective with special accent on the role of the public sector as an actor of culture-led regeneration in Ostrava.

This paper presents a set of criteria for measuring the satisfaction of the creative class derived from living in Szczecin. For this purpose, data from a telephone survey sample of the Szczecin creative class was collected*. On the basis of these criteria, the satisfaction level is estimated in the light of such factors as the attractiveness of and access to urban amenities, the city’s aesthetic values, and the attitude towards the closest neighbourhood. As a result, the satisfaction level reflects the relationship between the creative class and the local government. Also, this level decides the choice of representatives of the creative class as to whether to continue living in Szczecin or move out.

Warsaw is a metropolitan city with great creative potential. All the national media as well as editorial offices of most newspapers and periodicals of national circulation are located here. Mass media, educational institutions, and cultural institutions along with a community of educated and affluent people make Warsaw a leading cultural centre both in terms of potential in creative activities and as a market for products coming from the creative sector. Although the creative sector seems to be treated as an important part of the economic base of Warsaw’s development, creative potential located in the city seems to be underused. The goal of this paper is to present the support of city authorities for the development of the creative sector in Warsaw. The evaluation of problems and bottlenecks articulated by representatives of the creative sector will be confronted with the opinions of representatives of the City Hall.