Designing creative places: The role of creative tourism

Greg Richards

doi:10.1016/j.annals.2020.102922

Greg Richards

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2020.102922

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Abstract

Creativity has become a strategy in the making of places, with cities and regions seeking to increase their attractiveness to the creative class, support the creative industries or to become ‘creative cities’. We examine how creativity has been utilised in placemaking in tourism destinations through different design strategies. A shift in theoretical focus from creative individuals towards creative districts or places is noted, in line with the developing field of creative placemaking. Case studies of creative development indicate strategies need to be sensitive to local context, and follow some basic design principles. Creative placemaking includes consideration of resources, meaning and creativity, driven by clear vision, enabling participation, leaving space for creative expression and developing a coherent narrative.

Highlights

There is much discussion about how to stimulate processes of urban and rural regeneration, in ways that support the symbolic economy (Zukin, 1995)
The rise of creative development has stimulated more cities and regions to develop creative tourism strategies, as a number of commentators have noted, there is less understanding of how creative tourism works on the ground
Our analysis of cases operating at different scales indicates that such developments are highly context-dependent, and there are considerable differences in the design and implementation of programmes according to the scale of the location, connectedness and the available asset base

Summary

Introduction

There is much discussion about how to stimulate processes of urban and rural regeneration, in ways that support the symbolic economy (Zukin, 1995). The development of cultural and creative tourism is part of a general shift towards developing attractive places for people to live in, work in and visit (OECD, 2014). Creative development strategies link with tourism because a ‘creative atmosphere’ makes places attractive, not just for the creative class, and for others. Attraction-based strategies are associated with gentrification, exclusion and serial re production, causing places to lose the very distinctiveness that they seek to develop (Ashworth & Page, 2011). This suggests a need to design creative places better, to ensure that they retain their creativity and distinction.

Richards

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