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CityFutures09-CityFuturesinaGlobalizingWorld

EURA/UAAConference,4-6June2009,Madrid,Spain

FROMCREATIVECITIESTOURBANCREATIVITY?

SPACE,CREATIVITYANDGOVERNANCEINTHE

CONTEMPORARYCITY

P.Costa1,J.Seixas2andA.Roldo3

1PedroCosta

DinmiaCentrodeEstudossobreaMudanaSocioeconmica/ISCTE-IULContact:ISCTELisbonUniversityInstituteEconomicsDepartament,Av.ForasArmadas,1649026Lisbon,Portugal;

Tel.:(+351)217903007/E-mail:[email protected]

InstitutodeCinciasSociais/UniversidadedeLisboaContact:RuaProf.AnbalBettencourt,9,1600-189Lisbon,Portugal

Tel:(+351)217804700/E-mail:[email protected]

DinmiaCentrodeEstudossobreaMudanaSocioeconmica/ISCTE-IULContact:Av.dasForasArmadas,EdifcioISCTESala2N18,Lisbon,Portugal

Tel:(+351)217938638/E-mail:[email protected]

Abstract:

This paper derives from a broader research program studying the forms of governanceassociatedwith creativedynamics incities (theCreatcity project)and drawsonthe firstempiricalresultsgeneratedbythestudyfollowinganalysisofasetofexploratoryinterviewsinvolvingactorscentral to thinkingandactingon thecontemporarycity(politicaldecisionmakers,officialstructuresandcivilsociety)inthethreemetropolitanareasselectedfortheproject:Lisbon(Portugal),SoPaulo(Brazil)andBarcelona(Spain).Analysis of the responses sought to identify the different perspectives on the concepts of

urban creativity and creative city and the relationship between creativity, vitality andcompetitivitywithinurbancontextswhileseekingtounderstandintervieweeperspectivesonthestructuralconditionsnecessaryforthedevelopmentofcreativityinthecityintermsofspatial/geographic configurations and the associated cultural ambiances and economicactivities.In parallel,weaim todebate themeansof fostering andsupportingcreativity inurbanenvironmentsanddiscussjustwhichstrategicpoliciesandgovernanceprocessesbestachievethis.

Keywords:

Creativity;UrbanGovernance;Creativecities;Lisbon,SoPaulo;Barcelona


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1. Introduction

Thenotionofcreativecityhasbeensubjecttowidespreaddiscussionintheacademicworld

inrecentyearsandhastakena risingprofile inthediscourse andpublicpolicies forurban

areas at variousdifferent levels ranging from the major international institutions (the EU,

OECD,UN)tolocalgovernment,inthemostdiversestates(forwhichtheconcepthasproven

particularly attractive). The relationship between creativity and the level of urban

development,therecognitionoftheroleandimportanceofculturalandcreativeactivitiesin

economic growth and territorial development and the drive for competitivity through

attracting themuch vaunted creative class are just some of the leading variants to this

interestreflectedin themultipleapproachesandperspectivesonthisissue(forexample,see

Costaetal,2007;Costaetal,2008).

Despitetherenewedinterestandalltherhetoric(s)surroundingtheroleofcreativityinthe

development of cities and regions, the fact remains that the relationship between

cultural/creativeactivitiesandterritory,ina farbroaderperspective,hasvariousandremote

originsandhaslongsincebeensubjecttostudy(cf.Costaetal,2008).Thenewapproachesto

creative cities have only served to demonstrate their relevance (already quite an

achievement) and bring such issues not only to the centre of academic analysis anddiscoursebutalsopoliticalpolicies,wheretheyhavetakenonanenhancedprofile.

Thereareatleastthreemajorbutdistinctdimensionsthatmaybehighlightedinexploringthe

relationshipbetweencreativityandurbandevelopment:(i)theideaofaneedforcreativityin

urbandevelopmentinstruments,thatis, inthedevelopmentofcreativetoolsandsolutions

associated with the new socioeconomic and cultural contexts, (ii) the focus on creative

activities/industries/sectors (frequently assimilated to a greater or lesser extent intoculture

activities)asstructuralfoundationsforurbandevelopment,hence,theideathatculturalandcreative1 activities have a fundamental role in prevailing economies, deemed essential to

urbandevelopmentandinturnassumedasaneweconomicmotorforaknowledgebased

societyinwhichsymbolicvalueisevermorelegitimated,andfinally,(iii)defenceoftheneed

1

Thatinthemeanwhilehavebeensubjectedtoidentificationandmapping,inmanypartsoftheworld,andwithsignificantcontroversy(cf.Costaetal,2008).


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toattractcreativeskillsor,putotherwise,creativehumanresources(thecreativeclassesof

Florida2).

Whether adopting the more pragmatic and policy-oriented approach of authors such as

Landry,Matarazzo,Flemingorothers(whowielddecisiveinfluencethroughinstitutionssuch

asCOMEDIA,DCMS,NESTAorothersandthenreplicatedaroundmuchoftheworld)orin

the more mediatised discourse (while also highly contested and questioned in academic

circles irrespective of their huge influence) of writers such as Richard Florida or John

Howkins or even throughmore academic based analysis on cities and creativity and the

creative and cultural industries by authors from such diverse backgrounds and fields as

FrancoBianchini,JustinOConnorandDerekWynne,AndyPratt,KlausKunzmann,Richard

Caves,AllanScott,MichaelStorper,PeterHall,orAnnMarkusen,amongmanyothers,these

ideastookrootoverthecourseofthe1990s.Theresulthasbeenagrowingapproximation

between the perspectives and discussions that had been ongoing in fields such as the

economics and sociology of culture, economic geography, industrial and innovation

economics, urban geography, cultural studies or urban planning with themes including

examplessuchastohowactonurbandevelopment,culturalpolicies,theeconomicroleof

culture,socialintegrationthroughcultureormulticulturalismandinterculturaldialogue.

Inrecentyears,therecognitioninmultiplereportsproducedbyinternationalinstitutions(e.g.,OCDE,2005;EC/KEA,2006;UNCTAD,2008)hasproducedgreatervisibilityandaboveall

progressivepubliclegitimacyforsuchactivitieswhichhassimultaneouslybeenaccompanied

byheavypromotionofsuccessfulexperiencesofterritorialiseddynamicsbasedoncreativity

and creativeactivities toa greater or lesser extent around theworld(cf.Rato etal, 2009;

Costaetal,2008).

Among other factors, an underlying question seems to standout amidst all this rhetorical

affirmationofcreativecitiesovermoretraditionalformsofthinkingandactingonthecityand culture. In conjunctionwith clear discomfort regarding the (dissatisfactory) means of

more conventional analysis and intervention, of a very subject and sectorbased character

(acting on culture, on urbanism, on the economy, innovation, social inclusion, ), the

discourse on creative citiesmaintains the possibility of designing and implementing more

transversalinterventionsthatovercometheolddichotomiesandconflictsintermsofdomains

andformsofactions(e.g.,economyvs.culture,publicvs.private,ephemeralvs.permanent,2

Butalsoperspectivessuchasthenewapproachestohumancapital(byGlaeserandothers),ortheideaofthecityasanentertainmentmachinefromTerryClark.


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local vs. global).This (inconjunctionwith the greatpolitical attractiveness of the theme)

openedtheopportunityforsolutions(political,institutional,governance)tobetestedandalso

purports to be creative and innovative insofar as facing up tonew urban realitiesand the

difficultiesencounteredinmoretraditionalformsofaction.

However,inparallelwiththisdiscussiononcreativecities,thedebatearoundcreativityand

itsunderlyingfactorshasalsocontinuedwithparticulardynamisminvariousfieldsofstudy

(cf.Costaetal,2007).Onefundamentalquestionemergesoutofthedistinctionbetweena

traditional vision of creativity as something resulting from individual genius (natural or

transcendental)andthevisionofcreativityasasocialprocessthatiswelllocatedanddefined,

asisthecasewiththecontributionsfromauthorswithsuchdiversebackgroundsandfieldsas

MargaretBoden,MihalyCsikszentmihalyi,PierreBourdieu,orAllanScott.Thisisindeeda

particularlyinterestingfacettotherelationshipbetweengeneratingcertainurbansurroundings

or environments and their fundamental role in the development of creativity and

particularly in certain specific areas of the urban extent (cf., for further discussion Scott,

2006;Costaetal,2007;Costa2008;aswellasapproacheswithafocusontheconceptofthe

innovativeenvironmentsuchasCamagnietal,2004).

Whilesuchquestionsarebeyondthescopeofthispaper(seeinsteadandforexampleCostaet

al, 2008, 2007; Seixas, 2008), it must nevertheless be emphasised at this stage that adistinctionneedstobemadebetweentwolevelsofdifferentiateddiscussion(butinter-linking

andusuallyconfused),whichhascharacterisedthisrenewedinterestincreativityasadriver

ofgrowthandterritorialdevelopmentacrossitsvariousfacets:alevelofanalysisconsistsof

conceivingcreativityassomethingtransversaltotheeconomyandsociety(andtourbanlife),

assumingitrepresentsastrongpotentialsourceofvaluecreationin21stcenturyeconomies

and transversally to any specific economic sector. However, another and distinct level of

analysis on the contrary opts (as has often been the done in the resurgence of interest increativity) to focus its perspective only on that which has been deemed as the creative

activities (with greater or lesser coverage based on the notion of cultural and creative

industries).Within these, the creativeweighting is traditionally greater,but nevertheless

creativitynaturallystillextendsfarfurther.Increasingly,creativecontent(aesthetic,symbolic

or others) reach out to all activities and to all the scope of intervention and may

correspondinglythusalsobefosteredinsuchareas.Thesetwoapproachesareparalleland

perhaps even complementary but it should be stressed that we do always encounter this


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distinctionwhenreferringtourbancreativity(aswellaswhentryingtosetouttheconcepts

and representations as to the multiplicity of related notions creative/cultural

classes/activities/industries which have flourished) so as to be able to avoid the great

equivocationthatsuchconceptshavealsogenerated

Itwas within this framework, and taking into consideration all of this rising interest and

potential,inconjunctionwiththestillconsiderablelackofclaritysurroundingtheconcepts

andperspectivesontheirinterpretationandactionstobetaken,andevenoftheconsequences

and impacts resulting from socio-political projects launched within this field, that the

Creatcity research project structurewas launched (A culture ofgovernance for a creative

city:urbanvitalityandinternationalnetworks)3.Thisresearchprogramisbasedexactlyon

this discussion as to urban creativity (and consequently on concepts such as creative

neighbourhoodorcity),seekingtoidentifyformsandchannelsofgovernancethatmay

beabletodrivecreativitybasedcohesiveurbandevelopmentstrategies4.

Projectimplementationprovidesforthecombinationofastrongconceptualdimensionalong

withanempiricalstudyofurbandynamicsandhighlyspecificgovernancemechanismsvia

diversemethodologiesforquantitativeandqualitativedatacollection,includingtheanalysis

ofactionanddevelopmentstrategiesincorporatedintotencasestudiesonthreemetropolitan

areas:Lisbon(Portugal),Barcelona(Spain)andSoPaulo(Brazil).Thispaperpresents the findingsofthefirstpartofthisstudy anditsmostempiricalphase

puttingforward the results fromanalysisofaset ofexploratory interviewsmade ofactors

central to thinking and actingonthe contemporary city (political decisionmakers, official

entityrepresentativesandcivilsocietyactors)fromthesethreemetropolitanareas.

3

ADinmia/ISCTEProjectforthe2007to2010periodandfinancedbythePortugueseFoundationforScienceandTechnology(FCT/MCTES):PTDC/AUR/65885/2006.4AmongthemainareasofdebateraisedbytheprojectareconceptsassociatedwithCreativity(whatis/areurbancreativity?thecreativecity?creativespaces?creativeactivities/creativeindustries?),aswellastherelationshipsbetweenCreativityandUrbanDevelopment(whatvalueiscreatedandwhichcatalystsbringabouttheexistenceofacreativeurbanenvironment?Whatarethesoftfactorsoflocation?Whatisrelevanttothepromotionandsupportforfosteringcreativityinurbanregions?),betweenCreativityandUrbanPlanning(whatdegreesofinterconnectionandcorrelationaretherebetweenurbancreativityandcompetitiveness,sustainability,qualityoflifeandsocial,economicandspatialcohesion;urbanpolicy/strategicandurbanplanning/governance),betweenCreativityandUrbanCompetitivity,betweenCreativityandtheInternationalisationofcitiesandbetweenCreativityandUrbanGovernance(themainprojectinterlink:Whatgovernancestructuresandprocessesarebestpracticefordrivingurbancreativity?Whatcreativestructuresareabletoimprovetheprevailingstandardsofgovernance?Whichspacesandprocessesareabletoconsolidatea

highlevelofsynergyintermsofurbanrenewalthatis,inthesenseofvitality,competitivityandsustainability?).


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Suchanalysisseekstoidentifythedifferentperspectivesexistingontheconceptsofurban

creativityandthecreativecity,inadditiontotherelationshipbetweencreativity,vitalityand

competitivitywithintheurbancontextandtherebyseektoestablishwhich,intheopinionof

theinterviewees,arethenecessarystructuralconditionsforthedevelopmentof creativityin

thecityasregardsitsspatial/geographicconfigurationsandtheassociatedculturalmilieusand

economicactivities.Thereisasimultaneousefforttoascertainthebestmeansofpromoting

andsupportingcreativityintheurbanenvironmentanddiscussjustwhichpoliticalstrategies

andgovernanceprocessesarebestabletofacilitatesuchobjectives.

Afterabriefgeneralframeworkontheprojectresponsibleforthispaper(section2)including

ashortdescriptionofthemethodologyunderpinningthedatacollectionprocess(section3),

the following sections deal with the analysis and critical interpretation of the opinions

gatheredacrossaseriesofaspects:discussionof thecentralprojectconcepts(section4),the

places andconditions for contemporary creativity (section 5), theparticipative dimensions

andconsensusesonurbancreativity(section6)andthescopeofpublicinterventiontofoster

creativity(section7),abriefconclusion(section8)closestheanalysiswithatablepresenting

theresultsobtained.

2. TheCreatcityproject:ongoingresearchgeneralframework

Analysisoftheperceptionsoncreativespaces,factorsofcreativityandformsofgovernance

setoutinthisarticle,basedonthesetofexploratoryinterviewscarriedoutundertheauspices

of the Creatcity project, reflect the objectivesand structural logicadopted for the project.

Hence, prior to embarking on any explanation of the results, we first provide a brief

frameworkofthestructuralprojectlogicthatwasdeterminantin themethodologicaloptions

andconceptsineffectfortheinterviews.In essence, the methodological project structure is based on six core analytical Work-

Packages (WP) (to which another two of amore operational character are added) which

approachveryexactareasofanalysis,evenifstronglyinter-related.ThefirstoftheseWPs

consistsofsettingoutaconceptualframeworkforthestudyofgovernancemechanismsand

theregulatoryprocessestakingplaceinmetropolitanareasandtheirrespectivedynamicsin

parallelwiththesocioeconomicandpoliticalframingofthecreativecitynotions.Thisisa

fundamentalresearchstagecarriedouttransversallyandinvolvingallteammembersandis


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thefoundationstoneforthemorespecificanalysisthatdeepensthroughoutthefollowing

fourWPs.Theexploratoryinterviewscarriedout(aswellasthechoiceofcasestudiestobe

included)necessarilyderivefromthereflectiontakingplacewithinthisscope.

Based on the conceptual and analytical grid, aswell as the empirical analytical principles

definedforthisfirststage,workofamorethematictypemayproceedinparallelonthefour

WPs, deepening a series ofquestions thatwere considered fundamental to the analysisof

urbancreativityandformsofgovernanceonwhichthecreativedynamicsarebased:(i)an

analysis of the mechanisms nourishing competitivity and the participation in international

networksof economic actors, particularly in termsof concepts of territorial competitivity,

economicrestructuringandentrepreneurship,(ii)inturn,anotherfacetseekstobalancethe

role of creativity and creative resources in urban development, restructuring and

competitivity,basedontheidentificationofcreativeactivitiesandresourcesandespeciallyin

thefieldofculturalactivities,(iii)thenextWPholdstheobjectiveofstrivingtounderstand

theimpactofglobalisationonthephysicalandsocialappropriationofurbanspace,itsshared

experiencesandrepresentationsthusfocusinginonproblematicaspectstodailycitylifeand

theurbanenvironmentandthemannertheseconditioncreativity.Finally,thelastthematic

WPcentresonissuesrelatingtotheinternationalisationofcitygovernance,itsinstitutionsand

theirpoliciesseekingparticularlytoevaluateinstitutionalactionsofsub-nationalgovernmentsin the international promotion of cities. Each of these thematic areas thus represents a

fundamentalaspectof theempiricalcomponentof thisresearchandnaturallyalsoincluding

thecompletedsetofexploratoryinterviews.

ThereisthenthefinalWPwithacoreobjective.Developedoutoftheprecedingresearchand

resultingfromanalysisoftheconclusionsobtainedforeachstage,incorporatinganalysisof

thefactorsdrivingsuccessorfailureinthecreativeexperiencesanddynamicsstudied,taking

intoconsiderationthequestionofthepromotionofterritorialdevelopment,theendobjectiveconstitutes the identificationof strategic guidelines forurban governancewith a particular

focusonthecityofLisbon.Theexploratoryinterviewscarriedoutalsohaveafundamental

role in the perception of the existing dynamics in each one of the cities, the governance

mechanismsemployedandtheirassociatedfactorsofsuccessorfailure.

Naturally,thedevelopmentofeachrespectivedimensionincorporatesaconceptualapproach

(which enables the analysis of governance mechanisms for urban development and an

understanding of some of the recent dynamics associated with creativity, apparently


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successfulwithintheseurbanareas)aswellasanevaluationbasedonempiricalstudiesofthe

planningmechanismsandtoolsthatsupportbenchmarkpoliciestailoredtothemostdiverse

modelsofgovernanceandstrategiesforurbandevelopment.Forthisempiricalresearch,in

sequencetotheexploratoryinterviewsanalysedhere,andinparallelwiththeotherempirical

work(statisticalanalysis,etc.)thatisbeingundertakenbythevariousWPs,tencasestudies

were selected with very different institutional, morphological and socio-cultural

characteristicsfromthethreeurbanareassubjecttoanalysis,withtherespectiveresultsofthis

worknowunderanalysis.

3. Methodologicalframework:theexploratoryinterviewsinthreecities

As regards the analysis carried out within the scope of this paper, as detailed above,

interviewswereheldwithleadingfiguresfromeachofthethreeprojectcities.Theobjective

wastoquestionandexplorethedefinedframeworkbothconceptuallyandempirically.

Theselectionofintervieweessoughttoreflectthediversityofparticipantsinthesphereof

creative city governance: the public sector across its different scales (local, regional and

central/federal) andareas of intervention (culture, territorialplanning,urban development),

the privatesector and finally associative and non profit organisations. Intotal, twenty-twoexploratoryinterviewswerecompletedinthreecities:Lisbon(teninterviews),SoPaulo(six)

andBarcelona(six).

From across the three metropolitan areas, respondents were drawn from local public

government(municpio,ayuntamiento,prefeitura),withindiverseareaslinkedtothescopeof

the project (e.g., urbanism, social development, external relations), as well as institutional

actors(fromthefieldsofterritorialplanningandregionaldevelopmentandculture)linkedto

therespectivegovernments(central,state,federallevels)andregionalstructuresaswellasfrombusinessentitiesdirectlyorindirectlyconnectedwithurbandevelopment.Furthermore,

theinterviewsalsofeaturedrespondentsfromconsultanciesconnectedtourbandevelopment

andpublicpoliciesandthecreativeindustriesaswellasinstitutionsdirectlyinvolvedin the

productionandorganisationofculturaleventsandactivities.Figure1detailstheexploratory

interviewscoveredbythisanalysisandparticipantbackgrounds.


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Figure1:Listofexploratoryinterviews

Public/PolicyMaking

Consultant/Academic

Creative/CulturalProduction

LisbonL01 ManuelSalgado

Lisbon Municipal Council /CouncillorforUrbanism

X

L02 AugustoMateus AugustoMateuseAssociados X L03 DomingosRasteiro

AlmadaMunicipal Council / CultureDepartment

X

L04 NatxoCheca AssociaoZdosBois XL05 RolandoBorgesMartins ParqueExpo X L06 NunoArturSilva ProduesFictcias XL07 Antnio Fonseca

FerreiraCCDRLVT X

L08 GutaMouraGuedes ExperimentaDesign XL09 CatarinaNunes MinistryofCulture X L10 Antnio Mendes

BaptistaSecretary of State for TerritorialPlanning

X (X)

BarcelonaB01 MaravillasRojo Barcelona Council / Agncia

BarcelonaActivaX

B02 JordiPascual Agenda21CulturadeBarcelona X B03 OriolNel.lo GeneralitatdaCatalunha X (X) B04 SantiagoErrando AssociaoPaloAlto XB05 JosepRamoneda CCCB XB06 OriolClosiCosta Barcelona Council / Department of

UrbanismX

SoPauloS01 JorgeWilheim JorgeWilheimConsultores (X) X S02 LidiaGoldenstein ConsultoraEconomiaCriativa X S03 AnaCarlaFonsecaReis GarimpodeSolues X S04 FlvioGoldman So Paulo Council / International

RelationsX

S05 BrunoFeder EmpresaRegionalPlanejamento X S06 LuisBloch So Paulo Council / Secretary of

PlanningX

Thefieldworkwascarriedoutinthreecitiesatdifferenttimesin2008and2009.Thesemi-

directedinterviewwasrecordedandprocessedbytheprojectteamwithsomeoftheresultspresentedhere.Theinterviewssoughtespeciallytoexploresomeoftheconceptsandnotions

underlying the project (e.g., creativity, urban creativity, urban vitality, creative

neighbourhoods/communities,urbancompetitiveness)andbasedon aseriesofquestionson

thefollowingissues(theexploratoryinterviewscriptisprovidedinannex1):

-Understandwhereandinwhichformcreativityisnoticedintherespectivecity,

-Discussandexpressnotionsofcreativity,vitalityandurbancompetitiveness,


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-Discuss underwhatconditions (physical, economic, cultural, social) is creativity best

developedincities,

-Discusswhattypeofpublicinterventionmayserveasadriverofcreativity,

-Suggestpotentialcasestudiesandinterestingexperiencesformoredetailedanalysisinthe

respectivecity.

4. Discussionofcoreconcepts:vitality,competitivityandcreativityinthecity

Oneofthelinesofinquiryandanalysisfeatureddiscussionofsomeoftheprojectstructural

conceptstodiscoverhowtheywereperceivedandexplainedbytheinterviewees.Thissought

toidentifywhattherespondentsunderstoodbythethreeleadingprojectconcepts(vitality,

creativityandcompetitivity)andthewayinwhichtheythemselvesanalysetherelationship

between the three. We were specifically interested in ascertaining whether these were

perceivedasstatesorprocessesandwhethertheyweretrulydesirableobjectivesforany

realityorterritory.Theseconceptshadbeensubjecttopriorandextensivediscussionbythe

projectteamandasetofoperationaldefinitionssetout(cf.Seixas,2008,Costaetal2007)

whichwerecontrastedwiththeperceptionsoftheseactors.

a. Urbanvitality

Inanyurbanscenario,vitalityisessentiallyunderstoodasadynamicdimension,ofenergy

andmovement.Hence,thecomponentsthatstructureandproducetheseurbanenergiesare

correspondinglycrucialtourbandevelopmentandimprovement(Guerraetal,2006).

A(re)vitalisedurbanarea,withinthisframework(Seixas,2008)isconceivedasthecapacity

togenerate:

(i) activitiesgiventhatvitality,energy,animation,events,withinanydeterminedurbancontext,demandsthepresenceofpeople(residents,workers,visitors)andtheviability

andsustainabilityofthatproducedandtheiroperationalmeans.Suchactivitiesmay

correspondtoeconomicvitality(investmentinanarea,employment,transactionsof

ownership), social vitality (use of public spaces) and cultural vitality (events,

performances),


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(ii) transactions that is, exchanges in economic (consumption, transactions of

ownership), social (relationships, commitments and participation) or cultural terms

(networks,exchangesofinformationandideas),and

(iii) diversitywhichmaybeeconomic(activities,establishments,habitation),social(the

city as a facilitator for expressing creative individualism) and cultural (multi-

identities,tolerantcity).

Interview answers pointed to a strong bond between creativity and vitality, identifying

creativityasaprecursortodynamism,densityandalargenumberofeventsandhappenings

(inparticular,thoseonasmallscalefarmorethanlargescaleevents).

Thisperceptionparticularlystressestheimportanceofterritorialdynamicsspecifictocertain

areasofthecity,identifiedastheculturalneighbourhoods(namelyinthecitycentres),and

theoperationsandoccupancyratesofrundownorabandonedareas,especiallytheindustrial.

The potential was also noted (but questioned) as to urban creativity and the creative

activitiescontributingtowardsthevitalisationofextensiveareasofcurrentlyabandonedor

disusedareas (ports, industrial facilities, evenwhen locatedaway from the city centre),as

wellasformoresuburbanzonesandmorenormalandneutralneighbourhoodsinthe

city.

b. Urbancompetitiveness

Theconceptofcompetitivenessisunderstoodinarelativelybroadformbytheteamandnot

perceivedassomemonolithicformorassomemeresetofstaticcompetitiveadvantages.The

notionofterritorialcompetitivity,inparticular,hastobeconceivedasthecapacityforaspace

toofferqualityoflifeandwellbeingtoitsusersandtomaintainasustainabledevelopment

dynamic in relation to others (attracting residents, creating employment, guaranteeing

amenitiesandqualityoflifetousers,whileensuringthesustainabilityofresources,bringingaboutparticipationandculturalidentity,etc.).

The understanding of competitivity, within this framework, should incorporate certain

fundamentalpointsofreflection(cf.Seixas,2008):thisdealswithacomplexconceptrelating

to a process and not some simple concept associated with a state; it can refer to

differentlevelsandareasofdiagnostic,behaviourandintervention,takingintoconsideration

thecompany,theindustry,thecountry,theregion,theregionalandsupra-national

blocks. Thisis a relative,comparative,dynamicnotion requiring a relativelydemanding


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consideration of time; it constitutes a pluri-dimensional variablederiving from complex

economic,socialandpoliticalprocessesandhencecannotbeportrayedbyanysimplifiedor

partialindicators.

What is certain is that creativity and the promotion of competitiveness donot necessarily

proceedintandem(manyofthecompetitivenesspromotionperspectivesdonotautomatically

and directly result in a boost to urban creativity and vice versa). However, a broader

approachtocompetitivenesswhichincludesurbanvaluesthatarenowadaysincreasingly

considered to be core, such as equitable development, quality of life, environmental

sustainability, guarantees of citizenship and cultural and identity expression serve

considerablytobringperspectivesonurbancreativity togetherandgeneratecomplementary

featuresanddynamics.

Ineffect,overthecourseofinterviewanalysis,competitivity(understoodinvariableforms

and sometimeswithahighly ideological input) isnotgenerallyseen asanaddedvalue. In

contrasttotherelationshipperceivedtoexistbetweenvitalityandcreativity,inthecaseof

competitivity, many answers do not point to any such relationship even defending that a

competitivecitydoesnotactuallyhavetobecreative.However,themajorityofinterviewees

doassumethatthepromotionofacreativecitynecessarilyencouragessustainabilityand

competitivity.

c. Urbancreativity

Attentionalsofocusedonunderstandingtheperceptionsofthevariousactorsasregardsthe

multiplicity of concepts and dimensions (cf. Kunzmann, 2005) developed in recent years

aroundtheideaofcreativityanditsapplicationtothecityandthewaythattherespondents

perceived and took positionson themultipledebates and discussions around such notions

(e.g. urban creativity, creative city, creative spaces, creative activities/creativeindustries, creative means). This conceptual multiplicity has already been subject to

thoroughdebatebytheprojectteam(cf.Costaetal,2007,2008;Costa,2008;Seixas,2008),

basedonbroaderandmoreconsensualconceptsinacademiccircles(takeCsikszentmihaly

(1996)whounderstandscreativityasanyact,ideaorproductthataltersadeterminedstate-

of-the-art,orthattransformsonegivensituationintoanother)andconsideringthevectors

fundamentaltoanalysisoftheurbandomain.AsCostaetal(2007)concluded,attentionneeds

paying to the various dimensions questioned byBoden (1990) - creativity (whethermore


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fundamentalorincremental)assomethingnew,innovativeandvaluable-,withaparticular

emphasis onhighlighting the role of social recognition and the legitimizing processes and

socialvalueattributedtocreativity:therewillonlybecreativitywherecreativityisrecognised

(irrespective of whether by many or by few) as creative (and many have only been so

recognisedwell after their times,as isknown).This recognition isnot universal and is

sociallydefinedanddetermined,whichleadsusontofundamentalaspectstotheorganisation

ofurbanspace and instructuring the spatial organisation of creativeactivities (cf.Scott,

2006;Costa, 2008), especially certain factors linked to the agglomeration and creationof

specificmeansandenvironments,crucialtotheemergence(andrecognition)ofcreativity(formoreonthis,seeCostaetal,2007;Costa,2008).

Identifiedasrelativelyrecentbythemajorityofthoseinterviewed,theconceptof(orthe

concernwith)urbancreativity seems fairly well adjusted to the contemporaneouscontext,

underminingtheclassicalsectorsandgainingcorrespondingpopularity.Itmatcheswiththe

arrivalofnewinfluencesondiscussionsaboutcitiesandimpliesanalterationandrenovation

inthinkingontheurban.

The ideas expressed on urban creativity vary distinctly and different points of view are

adoptedaswouldonlybeexpectedgiventhedispersedconceptsinthisfield.Formanyofthe

interviewees,urbancreativityis theresultofcollectiveactivitiesandprojectsthattakeplaceinthecityandhencecorrespondtothesumofeverythingandnotonlytomajorinterventions

orundertakings.Toothers, creativity is intrinsically related topeople (andnot asmuchto

cities)andimpliespublicparticipationinsocialprocesses(insomeinterviews,andaboveall

inSoPaulo,beinghighlyassociatedwithaculturalandidentitydimensionofthelocal

population and perhaps boundupwith a constant need to struggle against the difficulties

posedbydailylife).

Inother cases, both perspectives are addressedwith creativity deemed to be expressed atpreciselythepointofoverlapbetweenthetwo:afirstpersonaldimensionandasecondmore

collectivethatislinkedtothecityandtocollectiveplanning(aboveall,thereisreferenceto

howanimprovedcityattractsindividualsandtheircreativeinput).

The approximation of the creativity concept towards the immaterial and intangible is also

referredtoandleadingtoamoreabstractdefinitionthatdoesnotcorrespondtoanyspecific

spaces,ortoneighbourhoodsorcreativezones:animmaterialcreativity,light,flexibleand

beyondanysystemandassociatedtobehavioursorfieldsofaction.Inturn,anothertypeof


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responsedefinestheconceptthroughthesectorswhereitisfound:innovationinindustryand

in firms, in scientific research, in technology or in education. Still more immediate and

frequent is the clear connection of creativity to culture and art (although not generally

assumed to be exclusive). Finally, some interviewees detail its sheermulti-dimensionality

(urban,commercial,artistic),stressingtheneedforthesedimensionstointeract.

Inpractice,thereisacertainlackoftrustinrelationtoboththeformandrhetoricsurrounding

creativecities thathas takenplace insomesocieties andsituations.Thismay generally be

understoodasdiscomfortovertheexcessivelabellingofculturalandevencreative(inits

broadest sense) activities and a need to identify urban creativity as transversal to the

prevailing society and economy ( suggesting new forms of acting, producing, organising,

intervening,consuming),andthereforealsotransversaltothecityandthepublicpoliciesfor

implementationonit.

5. Theplace(s)ofcreativityinthecontemporaneouscity

After various decades of an almost unbroken trend in urban expansion brought about by

continuous metropolisation, there are today at least two major and simultaneous trends in

urbanproductionandreproduction:ontheonehand,movementstowardstherestorationandevenrevitalisationofclassicalurbanpatternsandbuiltupthroughtothemid-20thcenturyare

gaining ground while at the same time there are urban emergency movements and a

continuationofmetropolisation innew formsand increasingly structured according to the

effectsoftime(oflife,ofconsumption,ofproduction)ratherthanspace(whilecontinuingto

alterinanintensefashion).Spatial-temporalmeta-structuresthusgaingroundwhiletheold

core variables ofpreferential locationare stretched ever further and rendered spectraland

relativised(StorperandManville,2006).Effectively,thetheories(andthepractices)ofurbanchoices,forfamiliesandcompanies

whichsupposedlyprecededthetheories(andthepractices)ofurbanproductionlooktoday

sharplydifferent.Inthesenewframeworks,diversequestionsmustbeposed.Firstly:do the

theoreticalassumptionscoincideorareatleastproximatewithontheonehandtheurban

choices inherent to revitalisation efforts and on the other for movements driven by the

continuousmetapolisationontheregionalscale?Secondly:howtosetoutbettersystematised

understandings for current urban development so as to better render support to a fuller


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interpretationofthecurrentevolutionarydynamicsofmetapolesasawhole?Furthermore,

within this scope, how best to construct and support new and influential policies for

contemporarycities,fortheirneedsandopportunities?Finally,andofgreatestconcerntous

here,what effective epistemological places, restrictions and /or catalysts for creativity are

therewithinthecity?

Florida (2002) concluded that urban politicalprioritiesshouldbe focusedabove all onthe

improved qualification (or even excellence) of urban life, at least in certain and specific

neighbourhoods(thecreativecentres)soastoestablishthecreativecapitalthatwishesto

live(morethanwork)insuchlocations.Hence,thereneedstobeanexpansioninthediversity

andtoleranceinthecity,acorrespondingraisingofnotonlyenvironmentalstandardsbutalso

urban, cultural and social amenities. This is an essentially competitive vision of cities,

structuredaboveallaroundthefunctionofcityurbanqualificationandparticularlyintermsof

highquality urbanstandards and furthermore in termsof the quality of the habitat-work

interconnectionsoastoleveragepowerfulcatalysteffectsfortheremainingurbanareasofthe

meta-citythroughmeansofthethreenewTs:technology,talent,tolerance.

However,thisperspectiveraisesvariousdoubtswherenotopenopposition.Ontheonehand,

thereistheideaofpoliticalprioritisation(andconsequentsecondaryimportanceattributedto

othersectors)infavourofthedevelopmentofhighqualityurbanareas.Variousdoubtswereputforwardastothepresenceofcreativeclassesinanydeterminedurbanscenarioableto

necessarily induce socioeconomic development on any medium or wide spectrum.

Furthermore, andwhileFlorida explicitly calls for themaximumpossible reduction in the

entrance barriers (or a socio-urban liberalism) in the most diverse areas of the city

(includingthosegrantedprioritystatusasthemorecreative),therealandsymboliceffectsof

thesenewpressuretypes,ontherespectiveurbanrentsandcosts,gosomewaytohindering

the democratisation of access and opportunity. The author has his own doubts regardingpossible rising socio-spatial inequalities over the medium-long period that, to a certain

extent,compareswiththeearlydecadesoftheformerindustrialparadigm.

VeryrecentempiricalresearchseemstoshowthatinvariousdifferentEuropeancities,the

most creative neighbourhoods are significantly linked with social and functional variety.

Nevertheless,attheendofaspecificperiodoftime,theybegintoexperiencelocationand

rentalpressuresduetotheimpactoftheriseintheirsymboliccapitalthusleadinginevitably


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to a trend towards gentrification, and to the rise of new socio-economic segregation

configurations(MusterdandSako,2006).

Withinsuchdebates,infaceofourfirstquestionoftheexploratoryinterviews Howdoyou

feelandwheredoyoutodayseecreativityinacity,andinparticular,inyourcity-metropolis

thedifferentresponsesnaturallyreflectedthedifferentperspectives(ofeachinterviewee)

regardingthetypeofactors,placesandtimesthatemergeasmostfeasible,moststimulating

andbestabletoserveascatalystsforcreativityincontemporarycitiesandalsoasregardsthe

spatial-temporalsustainabilityoftheaforementionedurbancreativeactivities.

Three typologies of positioning were framed within the scope of responses to this first

questionwhichwetermedscepticism,objectivepositivismandsubstantivepositivism:

1. Scepticism:Creativityisnotandnorshoulditbeanespeciallyrelevantdimensionto

urbananalysisandpolicy,

2. Objective positivism:Creativity should be a relevant dimension to current urban

policies. The main focus should be on the existence of actual physical spaces and

locations most notably, the urban and historical centres and in post-industrial and

underdevelopedareas,which,giventheavailabilityofspace,registerlowerthanaverage

rentallevels,

3. Substantivepositivism:Creativityshouldbearelevantdimensiontocurrenturbanpolicies. The main focus should be on urban society social, economic and cultural

processeswhetherinthefieldsofeducation,knowledgeandscientificandtechnological

researchorinculturalandsocialprojects(normallyonasmallandmediumscale).

Intheidentificationofspecificexamplesinthefield,whetherforurbancreativityinstitutions

orprojectsandgiventheresponsesobtainedfromtheinterviewpanel,astandardisedtable

wassetout(Figure2).

Thefollowingmainfeaturesstandoutforthedifferentiationandjustificationfortheroleofcoredimensionswithinthepanoramasofurbancreativity:

1. Creative neighbourhoods are appreciated for their high level of symbolic capital, the

strongculturalcomponentinadditiontotheirtourismandbohemianfactors(Florida,2000).

ThecasesofBairroAlto(Lisbon),Grcia (Barcelona)and VilaMadalena(SoPaulo)are

paradigmaticexamplesofthesetypeofsocio-culturallandscapes,


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Figure2:Typologiesofthecorespacesandprocessestourbancreativity

(inaccordancewiththeinterviewsheldinthreecities)

Lisbon

Barcelona

SoPaulo

1.Creative

Neighbourhoods

BairroAlto/BicaChiado

BairrodeGrciaBairrodoRaval

VilaMadalena

2.Alternative/

EmergentSpaces

MartimMonizBraodePrata

BairrodeRoquetes

3.Knowledgeand

CulturalTerritories

andInstitutions

CidadeUniversitriaF.C.Gulbenkian

CentroCulturaldeBelmC.M.Oeiras

UABCCCBMACBA

RedeSESCUSPBNDES

4.LargeScaleUrban

Investments

AlcntaraParquedasNaes

EixoA5ArcoRibeirinhosul

Projecto22@BomRetiro/LuzCidadeIta

5.SocialandCultural

ProjectsofLocal

Origin

SantosDesignDistrictAss.PaisTelheirasComp.TeatroAlmadaZdosBois,Chapit

LXFactoryExperimentaDesignLuzboa,Doclisboa

FestivalSonarAteneoPaloAlto

RedeCEUMov.NossaSoPaulo

FashionWeek

6.Socialand/or

ProfessionalClasses

ContemporaryArtistsModern

Architects,DesignersC&TResearchers

ContemporaryArtistsArchitects,Designers

ContemporaryArtistsPoorClassesBusinessActors

2. Thealternative/emergentspacesaretakenupbysocialclassesorgroupsthatfeaturea

high levelofdifferentiation(artists, immigrants) and in themajorityof the situations they

standininterstitialspacesanddimensionsoftheinstitutionalandurbancity,securinglow

rents. These spaces and groups have attracted growing interest including by local

governmentsgiventherecognitionofculturaldifferentiationasafactorverycommonlyfound

alongsidehighlevelsofcreativeoratleastalternativesymboliccapital,

3. The cultural and knowledge institutions in most cases are endowed with a strong

institutionalcapacityandwithconsiderablefinancialandhumanresourcesasisthecasewithrenownedculturalfoundations(suchasthe CalousteGulbenkianFoundationinLisbon,

or theCCCB in Barcelona), renowned university institutions, with an important mass of

researchandteachingstaff(suchastheUAB),orsocio-culturalinstitutionswithdeeprootsin

urban structures (as is the case with many of the SESC socio-educational centres, in So

Paulo);

4. Withatleasttwodecadesofstrongpolicies(BorjaandCastells,1997,Jessop,2002),large

scale urban investments involves a statute of political priority, high social and symbolic


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visibilityaswellastheperspectiveofgeographicmeta-livingexperiencesasregardsregional

scalestrategies.TheheavilypublicisedProjecto22@inBarcelona(withstronggovernmental

enforcement)ortheCidadeItainSoPaulo(completelyplannedanddevelopedbyalarge

privatebank)arebothwidereachingprojectsthatrepresentimportantlandmarksintheurban

dynamicsoftherespectivemetropolises,

5. Themultiplesocialandculturalprojectsoflocaloriginandthatemergeoutofthemost

diversified urban networks are almost exclusively of private or community / associative

initiative.Asinrelationtotheunderdevelopedareasofthecityfrequentlygeneratingtheir

own occupancy there are projects put into effect by the widest variety of groups or

associationswhiledemonstratingagreatpotentialfordifferentiationandcreativity.Within

thisscopeareprojectsforneighbourhoodimprovements(thesymbolic-culturalaffirmationof

theSantosDesignDistricttothesocio-educationalcreativityTelheirasParentalAssociation

inLisbon),throughtothescaleofthebigcity(suchasthecivicinterventionandthinktank

movementNossaSoPaulo)aswellasnaturallythemostvariedcreativeandartisticprojects

andevents(ExperimentaDesigninLisbontotheSonarFestivalinBarcelona),

6. Thesocialandprofessionalclassesmostcloselylinkedtocreativityareveryclosetothe

professionaltypologiessetoutforthisfield(cf.Costaetal,2008),althoughthoseinterviewed

in So Paulo placed an interesting emphasis on poorer classes as well as on business /entrepreneurialactorsreferringthattheirverysurvivaldepended,aboveallelse,ontheir

owncreativecapacities.

Asmentionedabove,andinaccordancewiththemethodologiesestablishedfor theongoing

researchproject,tenofthesecreativeprioritycitysituationswereselectedascasestudies5,so

astodeepenanalysisandbroadenthehypothesesavailabletotheproject.

Referencesbyrespondentstodifferenttypesofspacesandfundamentalprocessestourban

creativity in the contemporaneous city, isbasedonspecificconceptualassumptionsof the5Thecasestudiescurrentlyunderprogressarethefollowing:a)FourcasesstudiesinLisbonacreativeneighbourhood(BairroAlto/Chiado),apost-industrialzone(Alcntara)involvingmediumscaleculturalprojectsandtheperspectivesforlargescalepoliticalprioritisation,ahistoricalandalternative/awaitingcityzone,withastrongmulti-culturalcharacterandethnicandculturaldiversity(MartimMoniz);andfinallythecentralzoneofAlmada,withinterestingdynamicsgiventhesemi-peripherallocation(ontheoppositesideoftheriverTagustocentralLisbon)b) Three case studies in Barcelona a creative neighbourhood (Grcia), a major urban redevelopment projectassociatedwithnewtechnologiesandcreativeactivities(project22@),andasocialandculturalprojectimplementedbyacollectiveofcreativeactorswithinaderelictindustrialfacility(PaloAltoAssociation),c)ThreecasestudiesinSoPauloacreativeneighbourhood(VilaMadalena);aculturalandeconomicprojectthat

hasalreadyestablishedanimportantroleinthesymbolicpanoramaofthecity(FashionWeek),andanetworkedsocio-culturalinstitution,withanimportantroleinsocialinclusionandemancipation(SESCSoPaulo).


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city. These were systematised in accordance with a metabolic perspective with an order

similartotheinterpretativeproposalsfromFerro(2003)andSeixas(2006)understandingthe

city as an eco-systemic place, with spatial and landscape facets (the body of the city),

networksandflows(thebloodofthecity)anditscultureandcosmopolitism(the soulofa

city).

Itwas relatively simple task toset out a structure for the cityperspective types, based on

scenariosforurbancreativity,consideredanddescribedbyeachinterviewee:a) thecompact

city,b)theinformationalmeta-city,c)theculturalcity,d)theinterculturalcity(cf.Figure3).

Figure3:Eco-SystemofUrbancreativity

(inaccordancewiththeinterviewsheldinthethreecities)

Citytypes Compact Informational

Meta-city

Cultural Intercultural

Spacesand

Landscapes

CreativeNeighbourhoods,Areasundergoingrestorationandemerging

UniversitiesandTechnologicalparks

Largescaleinvestments

Imaginaryandfictionalspaces,Projectsoflocal

origin

Multi-functionalandheterogeneousspaces,Projectsoflocalorigin

Networksand

Flows

Socialdailyroutines

Proximity

KnowledgeInnovationTalent

Technology

KnowledgeInnovationTalent

Technology

DiversitySocialdailyroutinesExperimentationTolerance

CultureandCosmopolitism

Diversity

Singularity

Singularity

Diversity

a)Thetypeofthecitymostcommonlyreferredtoisthecompactcity,withtheconditionsto

ensure shared daily experiences of nearby areas and high standards of mobility, thereby

enablinggreatersocialinteractionandgroupdynamics(withthesebetweendifferinggroups)

thuscatalysinginteraction,exchangesandopportunities.Thesearetheperspectivesthatstand

outmostincreativeneighbourhoodsaswellasemergingareaswhetherpost-industrialorpost-habitation(abandoned),normallyinareasdeemedcentraltotherespectivemetropolis.

Importanceisattachedtopersonalcontactforthecrossingofbordersthatenablescreativity

to be replicated and expanded (as one respondent expressed it). While based on social

relationships,thisperspectiveinherentlyincorporatestherelevanceofcompactsizeandurban

proximity. Social and economic diversity is one of the mostmentioned structural factors,

highlightingtheneedfordifferenttypesofspace,functionandurbantypologiestocoexist.

Otherfactorssuggestedpointtotheimportanceofarchitecturethatstimulatesanddisturbs,


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and the existence, within these frameworks, of elements that impact and influence. The

presence of problems/tensions or opportunities are assumed given that, in this sense, a

normal neighbourhoodmight not have either the significant problems or the significant

opportunities.Finally,themostessentialconditionisdeemedtobedifference:banalityisthe

anti-city,commonplacesimpoverishtheurbanfictiononerespondentstated.

b) The information meta-city gets less mention by more culturally focused actors but in

contrastisgreatlymentionedbythemorebusinessand/orinstitutionalinterviewees.Tothe

latter, the components of knowledge, science and technology are the greatest drivers of

synergies from the interchange and creativity of a contemporaneous city. Simultaneously,

sectorsandclusterswiththegreatestpotentialwithinthescopeofcutting-edgetechnologies

and innovation gain much praise. There were references to the role of differentiation in

consumption and production models and, to this end, the need to target uniqueness and

diversityinproductionmodelsandthedesignofproductsandservices.Thesearepositions

that carry along with them their own assumptions as to urban-spatial aspects, most

specifically as regards the need for high standards of daily connectivity in a meta-polis

undergoingpermanentstructuraladaptation.

c)Theculturalcityperspectivepositsthatasormoreimportantthanthephysicalandsocial

cityistheintangiblecity.Thefictionalandimaginedcity,thecityofdreamsandemotions.Aninvisiblecitybutwhichstronglydefinestheconstructionofstoriesoutoftheuniqueness

of experiences and experimentation of each creative actor. Therefore, the organic

dimensions are vital to the development of themost varied dynamics and projects, most

specificallywithinthesocialandculturalfieldandessentiallyofamorelocalscaleoforigin.

Asonerespondentstatedacitywillbethericherthegreaterthediversityoffictionsitcan

takeon.Thewealthofthecityisandwillbethememoryofitsresidentsandtheireternalre-

livingandre-transformation,withinaperspectiveofaboveallemotionallivingexperiences.d)Theperspectiveof theinterculturalcityinvokesambiencesofdiversityandtolerancethat

fostertheexponentialgrowthincreativityoutofconfrontationwithasymmetryanddifference

includingeconomicandsocialdifferences.Thispointstofarlessercontrolorevenplanning

opting instead in favour of scenarios characterised by a degree of instability and

disorganisation. Uncertainty and tension, created through the existence of elements that

disturbemergeasmotorsabletocreateopportunitiesforthedevelopmentofcreativityandthe

dynamicsandprocessesthatfosternewknowledge.


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6. Mobilisationandconsensusonurbancreativity

It is an undeniable fact that the relationship between creativity and urban development

incorporates adebate of rising intensityat least since the beginning of this decade (Scott,

2006).Despitethis,therearevastfieldsrequiringgreaterdebate,clarificationandevennew

approaches a particularly pertinent sentence given the strong paradigmatic mutations

currentlytakingplace.Scottdulysetsoutvariousperspectivesfordeepeningthesedebates

bothregardingnewandpotentiallypromisingfieldsofinterpretationandperceptionofurban

creativity whether relating to types of processes and the leading economic, social and

geographicstructuresand/ornecessaryforthebestexpansionandconsolidationofcreativity

asafactorinthequalificationofthelocal.

Here,ourobjectivesincluded thesenewopenings andnewquestioning,whichwe hope to

deepen regarding the threemetropolises under analysis, analysing the type of spaces and

actorsclassifiedbyquestionnairerespondentsasofgreatestpotential(seesection5),butalso

developingathematicperspective(orrather,apanoramaofthestructuresandprocesses)on

thesocial,culturalandclearlypoliticalaspectscoretocreativevitalityinthemultipleand

variedtypesofsurroundingsandspatialandgeographicconfigurationsofthecity.Hence,andgiventhemostcriticalthemes,theprojectteamthencarriedoutamoreintegrated

exercise, more qualitative and comparative following similar methodologies to those

acceptedandrecognisedfor theprospectiveandstrategicanalysisofactors(Godet,1993)

thus ensuring high levels of consensus (firstly) and mobilisation (secondly), given the

different dimensions raised and emphasised and the set of interviewees in the three

cities/metropolises(cf.Figure4).


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Figure4:CriticalThemestoUrbanCreativityLevelsofMobilisationandConsensus

InaccordancewiththeexploratoryinterviewsundertakeninLisbon,BarcelonaandSoPaulo

The results revealed a highly interesting spectrum of perspectives on mobilisation andconsensus:

i. There are dimensions that, while mentioned by various participants, gain no easy

consensusmostnotablysupportforalternativeactorsandspacesofcreativityaswell

astheneedfortheeffectivelydecentralisedcityculturalmanagementandprogramming,

ii. Onthe otherhand,giventherewas heavyemphasis by certain interviewees inSo

Pauloandinallthreecitiesamongmorebusinessorientedrespondentsoftheneedto

setoutaspecificstrategyforthecreativeindustriesorevenestablishingstateorpublic-

privateentitiesexplicitlyfocusedongrowingthecreativeindustriesincities 6.However,

thispositionattainsarelativelylowlevelofconsensus,

iii. Thedimensionsmostconnectedtotheprovisionofgoodqualityoflifeconditionstothe

generality of urban societies (quality public spaces, good public mobility, multi-

functionality,greaterparticipation)gainsignificantconsensus,doingfar betterthanthe

6OneexampleistheBritishCIDAs(CulturalIndustriesDevelopmentAgencies).

THEMES

Mobilisation

Consensus

High

Low

Low

High

Supporttoalternativeactorsandemerging

areas

Institutionalstrategiesforthecreativeindustries

Greatercivicinvolvementandparticipation

Heavypublicinvestmentin

EducationandCulture

Themultifunctionalcity

Optimalpublicmobilityandurbanproximity

Theinterculturalcity

Decentralisationofculturalmanagement

Qualitypublicspaces

Cooperationandsubsidiarity


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levelofmobilisationatleastintheoverallrangeofintervieweeopinionsamongthe

themesconsideredcritical,

iv. Finally,thequestionofinter-culturalexchangeandtheprospectofgreaterinvestmentin

theeducationalandculturaldimensionsdrewsignificantconsensusfrompracticallyall

respondents.Whilethecorrespondinglevelsofmobilisationdonotreachsuchasimilar

levelofconsensus,theseremaingreaterthanthoseconnectedtothespecificallymore

urbandimensions(referredtothepreviousline).

7. Governanceandcreativityinthecity

In2003,Charles Landry askedwhat could be the place forcreativity (an epistemological

place first of all) in the possible interpretative socio-cultural and consequently political

(re)structuringofthecity.Thefirstconfrontationbetweenthepoliticalandcreativityseemsto

conclude, and to a considerably convincing extent, that the fact that the overwhelming

majorityofstateandplanningstructuresaresimplytoostaticandself-complacenttobring

thisaboutandthemselvesrequiremajordosesofcreativityinthewaytheyactandgovern

their respective areas. This is a panorama, however, that slowly changes when in global

contextsofgovernanceandplanning,morecreativeactorsandprofessionalsparticipate(andhavethecapacitytoinfluence).Kunzmann(2003)actuallysetsouta listofcreativeactors

formanagementandgovernanceprocessesincities:frompoliticalleaderswhoputforward

newvisions, imaginative planners, independent research think tanks, artists, immigrants to

journalists.

Hence, it is necessary to ensure: firstly, projects and processes catalysing governance,

collectivecooperation and innovationand secondly, spacefor the locationorpraise of the

circumstances inwhich creative actors may gain inspiration and motivation for theiroutputs.Theinducementofcreativityincitygovernmentandadministrationimpliesnotonly

alongtermperspectivebutalsoawillingnesstoconceiveof thetransformationofthecitys

ownpoliticsandpolicies.

Arisingoutoftheseperspectives,urbangovernanceseemstobecloselytiedtothefostering

ofcreativityinacity.Obviously,thisdoesnotmeanatallthatthereisanylinearandwell

understood correlation between them actually, Healey (2004) states that there is no

absolutely direct relationship between urban creativity and creative urban governance or


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betweeninnovationinthecityandinnovationinthecityspolitics.However,shestillmakes

mentionastotheexistenceofanimportantpotentialforinfluence.

Variousquestionsarethusopenedup.Whatgovernancestructuresandprocessesarebestable

to driveurban creativity?What structures and dynamics inherent to the citys politics (in

public, civic and collective terms) might drive a good and democratic interconnection

betweenpoliticsandcreativityinacity?Whatcreativitystructuresmayimprovethestandard

ofgovernanceitself?Whatspacesandprocessesmayprovecapableofconsolidatingahigh

level of synergy in the sense of improved urban qualification (in terms of vitality,

competitivityandsustainability)?

Asisknown,thedebatearoundurbangovernancehastakenongreaterrelevanceinmultiple

forums.Ontheonehand,thereisthefocusontheformsofinteractionbetweensocialactors,

between different cultures and dynamics, in the sense of building and attributing

responsibilityforcommonobjectives.Ontheotherhand,thereistheattentiongiventothe

constructionofcooperationprocessesandmorepluralformsofpoliticalandculturalconduct.

Thispotentialhasensuredthattheconceptofurbangovernancehastoasignificantextent

been appropriated not only by theories of collective action but also by diverse cultural,

political and even management circles having already long since entered into semiotic

discourse,justifyingtheexistenceorthealterationofdeterminedstructures.Thissituationhassimultaneouslyresultedinanunsurprisingincreaseindoubtsovertheimplementationofthe

conceptgiventheopeningupofperspectivesandjustificationsthataresubstantiallydistinct

toeachother(Seixas,2007).Irrespectivetoallsuchattention,urbangovernancepotential,

alsoasacatalystforcreativity,comprisesustosetoutitsmultiplevectorsasshowninFigure

5,followingaprevioussystematization(id.,ibid.).

Thesedifferentpossibilitiesmaybehardorsoftandtheirconsolidationwillcertainlyrevolve

around the prevailing local cultures, norms and practices. In Figure 6, we detail theperspectivesofthequestionnairerespondentsasregardstherationalityoflocalpoliticsfor

urbancreativity.Itisoneofthemainobjectivesofthisresearchproject,tobetterunderstand

the types and quality of the connections between these different governance vectors, and

urbancreativityfostering,namelythroughtherespectiveelementsandtrendsabovestressed.

Weintendtogivefurtherinsightthroughthesedimensionsinaproximalpublishingtext.


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Figure5:Vectorsofurbangovernanceaspossiblecatalysttocreativity (basedonSeixas,

2007)

Vectors ofshareddebate

Release ofinformation

Assuming the existence and widespread awareness ofinformation and knowledge (clearly including scientificknowledge), this is one of the most important vectors ofdemocratic transparency, socio-political inclusion and, insum,sharedresponsibility.

Forums andworkshopsfordebate

Instrumentsfortheparticipationofspecificactorsrepresentingconcreteinterestsand/orcivilsocietyingeneral.

Civic participativeinvolvement

Development of participative instruments for civil societyactorsinpoliticaldebateanddecisionmakingprocessesforthecity.

Joint strategicvectors

Joint planning ofcollectivestrategies

Processesandforumsfordiscussion,agreeingandcontractingbetweendifferentactors,ensuringtheyshareco-responsibilityforacollectiveproject.

Deliberative civic

involvement

Foster social co-responsibility and raise the levels of cultural

motivationforinvolvementintheactualpoliticaldecisions.Administrative and sharedresponsibilityvectors

Decentralisationprocesses andreformulatingcompetences

Reconfiguring responsibilities at different levels of themetropolitan/regionaltothecommunity/neighbourhood.

Vertical cooperation(public-public)

Deepening actions based on the principle of subsidiarity andreciprocitybetweenthedifferentadministrativelevels.

Horizontalcooperation (public-public)

Broaden the horizontal co-responsibility policies and actions,especiallyatmorelocallevels.

External andinternationalcooperation

Expansion of the interrelated joint initiatives and actionsbetweenpublicandprivateentitiesfromdifferentterritoriesandcities.

Public-privatepartnerships Developmentof projectsandjointworkinginitiativesbetweenthepublicandprivatesectors.Processes ofevaluation

Theexistenceofchannelsforquestioningandcriticalanalysisof an independent nature (and preferably scientific), so as tobring about effective evaluation and responsibility for theactionstaken.

8. Conclusion

Thispapersoughttoanalyse,basedontheexploratoryinterviewscarriedoutwithinthescope

oftheCreatcityprojectinLisbon,BarcelonaandSoPaulo,thedifferentperspectivesheldon

conceptsrelatingtourbancreativityandthecreativecity,aswellasnotonlytherelationship

betweencreativity,vitalityandcompetitivityinurbanenvironmentsbutalsoanunderstanding

as to the necessary structural conditionsfor the development ofcreativity in the city with

further discussion of the political strategies and governance processes able to best drive

creativityinurbanspaces.


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Figure6:LocalPoliticalRationaleonUrbanCreativity

Objective

Positivism:

Urbanism

Objective

Positivism:Social

Sciences

Substantive

Positivism:Spaces

andLandscapes

Substantive

Positivism:Flows

and

Cosmopolitism

Institutional

Structures

Decentralisation/Publicparticipation

Nonexcessiveregulation/Selfregulation

SectoralIntegrationPublic-PrivatePartnerships

Definitionofstrategies

Strategic

InstrumentsUrbanism Perceptions UrbanPlanning

StrategiesforCulture

UrbanPlanning

SchoolsCompactcities Publicspaces Multi-functionality

Enhancementofspacesfor

experimentation

Political

Priorities

HousingandPublicSpaces

Educationand

Research

CultureHousingandPublic

SpacesCulture

Economic

ViewsProduction Consumption

ProductionandConsumption

ProductionandConsumption

UrbanSocio-

Cultural

Capital

NeighbourhoodsIdentity

AssociationsNeighbourhoodsCitizenship

SocialVitalityandCulturalCitizenship

Governance

Networksand

Instruments

PartnershipsPartnershipsDecentralisedstrategies

Decentralisation

DecentralisedInformation

ParticipativeandDeliberativeProcesses

This clearly demonstrates the need to go furtherwith analysis thus far carried out and to

achieve a deeper appreciation of the work undertakenunder the auspices of this research

project. However, we would at this stage draw attention to three observations that may

alreadybedeemedcentralbasedontheresultspresentedanddiscussedhere.

Thefirstidearelatestothepotentialoftheurbancreativitydimensiontourbandevelopment

withintheprismofthenewparadigmsforanalysisandinterventioninthecity.Independently

ofwhatPeterHallsowellpointsout,thatthecityhasalwaysbeenthe centreof creativity

throughout history, the new utilisation of former industrial facilities inWestern cities, forinstance (Hall,2000), transforming them into phoenixborn out of the ashesof traditional

manufacturing (Hutton, 2009), represents (in addition tomany other heavily territorialised

creativity based dynamics) an unparalleled opportunity to create and capitalise on new

synergiesandadvantagesforurbandevelopmentassociatedwithneweconomicopportunities

and forms of social emancipation and cultural expansion.Creativity, a key factor for the

development andcreationofvalue in contemporaryeconomies, transversal to all activities

and social practices (from the cultural and more creative through to all others), has a


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potentialthatmaybeexploredatthelocallevel,withinalogicofpromotingurbanvitality

andcompetitivity,whichmayprovehighlyrelevanttosustainablyboostingvariousfacetsof

urban development (economic efficiency, social equity, environmental quality, civic

participation and identity and cultural expression), and replacing more reductive logics of

action,frequentlycentredonthemereexploitationofshorttermcompetitiveadvantages.

However, all of the interest and rhetoric around creativity and its potential for urban

development bears its own dangers and a second point that we would also take this

opportunitytohighlightislinkedtothedoubtanduncertaintythatstillexistsinthisfield.In

practice,asEvansnotes,importantuncertaintiesderivedfromthestillfragilefoundationson

whichpolicieshavebeenbasedforfosteringthecreativeindustriesandtheperspectivesfor

thecreativegrowthofcitiesaswellasthediffuseconceptsonthecreativeclass,innovation,

processesandthebenefitsofclusters(Evans,2009,p.1032).Thisdoesnothoweverprevent,

given the new development dilemmas facing cities now dealing with a new and visibly

profoundsocialandeconomiccrisis,andgiventhelackofconsistentandalternativeoptions

and strategies, this from being an increasing pertinent cultural and political orientation.

Nevertheless, it remains important to address the questioning and uncertainties existing in

various fields and ensuring the relevance of continuing debates on issues that we would

highlightasincludingthefollowing: Whatistheroleofpoliciesinfosteringcreativityinacity,withintheoverallmixof

urbanpolicies?Whatarethepriorities?

Willtheybringgreaterstrengthsorgreaterrisksforcities?AsHutton(2009)states

cities are facedwithachallenge forwhich theyhave twomajorresponses:eithera

successfulandexponentialurbanregenerationacrossthemostvarieddimensionsora

splintering urbanism (in the Graham and Marvin terminology) with forced

relocationsofsocioeconomicactorswithlessfinancialandinformationcapital. What is the role of urban planning? Should it opt in favour of mixed-use or in

specialisation? In well defined spatial clusters (multimedia, artistic production,

cultural goods, marketing, fashion and design, software, etc.) or in hybrid and

interstitial spaceswithin the normal (while planned)urbannetwork?Whattypes of

proximitiesandinfluences,whattypesofdifferentiation(whetherwithinthespatialor

the social ambits or within the economic and business sector fields) should be


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conceivedsoastobestfosterthemostinterestingexternalitiesandurbansynergies?

Whatlandscapes,whatdensities,whatappropriationsandwhatrhythmsforacity?

Howtoarticulatethatdichotomyinthelogicsof(perceptionand)actiononcreativity,

polarisedbetweentheCreativeIndustriesorActivitiesorUrbanCreativity?The

clearestrationaleandwithgreatestimpacthasclearlybeenthecreativeindustries.

Here,andasEvans(2009)recentlywrote,thereseemstobearelativeconvergence

andevenmutualemulationofpolicieswithinthescopeofthecreativeindustries.This

convergenceeffectivelyappearswellabovethewaterlineofouranalysisofthreecities

and their strategies for their respectiveurbanareas. There isa further convergence

takingparticularshapegiventhecurrenteconomiccrisisandthesharpdevelopment

policyadjustmentsacrossthemostdiversescales.Nevertheless,thisconvergenceand

the respective consolidation of certain political and administrative rationalities

remainsguidedbymeta-analysesofgrowthofaneweconomy,furthersustainedby

theoldlogicsandrationalitiesofeconomicandindustrialpolicy(Evans,p.1003).

Specificallyasregardingthemajorinvestorsortheiragents(normallyfromthereal

estatesectorbutalsoothers,includingpoliticians)withfewornosocio-culturalbonds

withthelocalstakeholdersandwiththeirinterrelatednetworksandthestructuringof

urbansynergies,thereneedstobediscussionoftheeffectivecreativeimpactoftheseactions on the local economies and establish meaningful interactionwith the more

bottom-up dynamics which have essentially characterised the most successful

territorialisedcreativitybasedcasesaroundtheworld,unquestionablydefinedbyan

investment in specificity and in authenticity that enable their differentiation and

consequentaffirmationingloballyfunctioninglogicsandprocesses.

Thethirdideathatwewishtohighlighthererelatestoaspectsofpolitics,administrationand

governance.Countlessquestionsareraisedinthisfield.Giveneverythingthathasbeenseen,justwhereshouldpublicactionopen?Giventheaforementioneddoubtsanduncertainties,

whatmightleadtomoredivergencesandlessconsensusasregardstheobjectivesofpublic

action?Arewedealingwithclassicalvisionsonprocessesthathavealreadymovedbeyond

post-modernity?Arewefacedbyagentrification increativity itself?Thereby immediately

impacting on the right to a city?Or, on the contrary, opening up and expanding the new

possibilitiesofurbanemancipation?Whatspaceisthereforalternativepolicies?Giventhe

distinct pace and most diffuse political spaces, what adaptation is possible to the heavy


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institutionalstructuresandtheirtechnicalandadministrativerationalitywithinanemergency

frameworkofnewflows,appropriationsandrhythms?

It is to this entire range of questions that we shall continue to debate and tomake our

contributiontowardsproducinganswers.Thecontinuationoftheaforementionedcasestudies

takingplaceinthesethreecitiesalongwithotherconceptualandempiricaldevelopmentsare

thenextstepsandprovidingforthefurtherextensionoftheseanalyticalreflections.Taking

into consideration the diversity in the case studies and situations chosen, and the clear

awarenessofthenon-transferabilityofsituationsandformsofaction,weshallseektobetter

understandwhichspecificconditionsmightstructurethedevelopmentofcreativityinthese

cities and their concrete experiences positing the strategic principles and vectors of

governancethatmaybestserveurbancreativity.

9. Bibliography

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BORJA,J. and CASTELLS,M. (1997) Local and Global Management ofCities in the InformationAge,EarthscanPublications,London

CAMAGNI, R., MAILLAT,D., MATTEACCIOLLI, A. (Eds.) (2004),Ressources naturelles et culturelles,

milieuxetdveloppementlocal.Neuchatel:EDES

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COSTA, P., B.VASCONCELOS eG. SUGAHARA (2007), O meiourbano e a gnese da creativity nasactividadesculturais,inRecriarevalorizaroterritrio,Minutestothe13thAPDRcongress,Aores,5-7July2007;Coimbra:APDR

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GLAESER,E.(2004)ReviewofRichardFloridasTheriseofthecreativeclassHarvardPapers

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Annex1

EXPLORATORY INTERVIEW SCRIPT

1. State-of-the-art:Howdoyoufeelandwheredoyoutodayseecreativityinacity,andinparticular,

inyourcity-metropolis?

2.Concepts:

2a.WhatdoyouunderstandbyUrbanVitality?

2b.WhatdoyouunderstandbyUrbanCreativity?

2c.WhatdoyouunderstandbyUrbanCompetitivity?

3.Structuralconditions:

3a.Withinwhattypeofcity/landscapedotheresultsofurbancreativitybestflourish?

3b.Withinwhattypeofsocial/culturalenvironmentdotheresultsofurbancreativitybestflourish?

3c.Whicheconomicsectorsarethemostpropitiousforfosteringurbancreativity?

4. Politics:Whatsocio-politicalandadministrativeformsarebestabletosupportandreplicateurban

creativity?

5. Suggest three concreteexamplesof urbancreativityprojects / processes whether in terms of

projectsorintermsofterritories(withinyourcity-metropolis)exampleswithhistory,profileand

contentthatjustifydetailedanalysisbythisresearchproject.

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