The importance of both creative industries and the creative class must be considered in order to strengthen the competitiveness of creative cities. A strategy that balances and harmonizes both factors is a key factor in determining the sustainable development of a city.
In recent years, creative cities have been discussed as a new strategy to improve the competitiveness of cities. A creative city is a city that has an environment where creative talents can exercise their creativity. In other words, a creative city is a city that is rich in creativity in culture and living environment for talented people, and has an innovative and flexible economic system. These characteristics of cities are becoming increasingly important in modern society, and creativity is essential for cities to continue to develop in the face of increasing competition due to technological advances and globalization.
In particular, the concept of a creative city contrasts with traditional industrial cities, which focus not just on economic performance, but on the integrated development of cultural and social elements. For example, the cultural infrastructure of a creative city includes museums, performance venues, and libraries, as well as spaces where citizens can create freely. This contributes to improving the quality of life for city residents while creating an environment where people from different cultural backgrounds can come together to generate new ideas.
There are mixed views on whether creative industries or the creative class are the main drivers of creative cities. Those who emphasize the creative industries argue that they bring human, social, cultural, and economic diversity to cities, which in turn leads to urban restructuring and, in turn, generates added value and employment. Examples of creative industries that utilize creative skills and talents as a source of income and employment include advertising, design, publishing, performing arts, and computer games. These industries also contribute to a city’s global image, which can be an important factor in attracting international tourists and investors.
From the perspective of the creative class, the creative class, which creates added value through individual creativity, gathers together to form a talent network, or creative capital. This gives cities the self-sustaining power to accumulate economic wealth. Therefore, attracting and retaining the creative class is the key to enhancing a city’s competitiveness. The creative class includes scientists, technologists, artists, architects, programmers, filmmakers, and more. They are more than just workers, they are a key resource for a city’s future, and their influx and settlement is considered a critical factor in determining the direction of a city’s development.
Regardless of the underlying drivers of creativity, for a city to become a creative city, it must first have a creative environment that attracts creative industries and the creative class. Charles Landry, one of the leading thinkers on creative cities, believes that the following environmental factors are necessary to turn creativity into a city’s genetic code Individual qualities, commitment and leadership, access to people with diverse talents, organizational culture, local identity, urban public spaces and facilities, and the creation of dynamic networks. In addition, public-private partnerships are essential for these elements to function properly, and the active participation of city residents is essential.
Creative cities don’t happen overnight, and there are risks involved in the process. The output of creative industries is difficult to predict consumer demand and valuation, and the creativity of the creative class is difficult to standardize, and their specialized labor is not easy to replace. Therefore, to build a creative city, it is necessary to carefully examine the unique characteristics of the city to identify the conditions that will maximize the dynamism of creative industries, the creative class, and the creative environment. In this process, the history and cultural context of each city plays an important role, which is the basis for sustainable development that goes beyond mere economic goals.
