CREATIVE CITY RESOURCE PAPER

The Creative City Resource paper responds to three questions:

What are the characteristics of the new economy most important for cities?

What are cities doing to meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities created by the new economy?

What kind of leadership is needed to develop the creative city?

Click here to download the entire Creative City Resource Paper as a PDF.
-Adobe Acrobat document 68k

Introduction
In the 20th century, successive stages in the development of America’s economy were described in terms that expressed a core characteristic driving growth, such as efficiency, productivity and flexibility. In the New Economy of the New Millennium the term that best expresses what is at the heart of growth is creativity.

The defining elements of the economy of the 20th century have not been erased, but the injection of new technology—especially the Internet—and the related multiplication of opportunities and acceleration of change have put creativity at the center of success in all areas of public and private endeavor.

"Creativity," declares Rosabeth Moss Kanter in her most recent book, eVolve: Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow, is a lot like looking at the world through a kaleidoscope. You look at a set of elements, the same ones everyone else sees, but then reassemble those floating bits and pieces into an enticing new possibility. Innovators shake up their thinking as though their brains are kaleidoscopes, permitting an array of different patterns out of the same bits of reality." (261)

As is the case with businesses, success for cities will depend on creativity. The creative city will be home to creative businesses and organizations and the individuals who direct and propel them. Creative cities, however, will not arise spontaneously. They will require creative leadership.

"Cities," writes Charles Landry, in The Creative City: A Toolkit for Urban Innovators, have one crucial resource—their people. Human cleverness, desires, motivations, imagination and creativity are replacing location, natural resources and market access as urban resources. The creativity of those who live in and run cities will determine future success." (xiii)

Fortunately for cities, what they have to offer is attractive to those who can contribute creativity. They also are operating in an economy that developed in ways that create clear and significant advantages for cities. Whether or not cities will capitalize on these advantages will hinge on the creativity they can bring to bear.

To read more of the Creative City Resource paper:
CLICK HERE to download the complete printable PDF version.