Arts, Culture and the City: An Overview

Abstract

More people, more organizations, more towns, cities, regions and countries for more reasons have found that over the last 30 years the arts, their broader culture and overall creativity has something in it for them in renewal and revitalization. Over the last decade there have been over a hundred studies of the economic and social importance or impact of the arts, culture, heritage, the recycling of buildings for cultural purposes, creative quarters and the creative economy across the world. Yet there is much more to the arts, culture and creativity in city development. Places in transition urgently need to develop an overall culture of creativity cu ing across all domains within which the arts can be significant. This can be a painful exercise as old certainties crumble and systems, like education, need rethinking. Yet this can unleash new social innovations, new business models and new forms of citizen engagement. Renewal and transformation together are a cultural project involving a shift in mindset and perspective. Creativity is a primary resource as it creates the conditions from which innovations can emerge. Within this the creative economy sectors, especially when aligned to the dramatic digitization dynamic, play a significant role in developing new products and services, generating jobs, anchoring identity and helping expression. Cultural activities and programming and the physical assets of places, their heritage and older industrial buildings are significant elements in the renewal repertoire.