“More Creative Energy”: Senses and Functions of Creative Space in the Industrial Town (the Case of Naberezhnye Chelny)

Abstract

The possibilities of post-Soviet industrial cities represent a vast potential for repurposing territories and reprogramming the original semantic codes. The article considers an attempt to repurpose through the creation of a creative space on the territory of one of the industrial enterprises in Naberezhnye Chelny, and the expression of the right to the city among urban activists.This article discusses various strategies for understanding the meanings of the formation of a creative urban space among activists. These strategies are considered on the example of the formation of a creative space in the city of Naberezhnye Chelny.The first strategy should be designated as a "creative city within a city". This strategy is conditioned by the understanding that the creative space in the city is considered as a certain historical symbol, as a symbol of the identity of the city, but at the same time created by analgia with the spaces of other cities and, therefore, associated with the organization of various cultural events and breaks in the context of everyday life; at the same time, the space itself is considered as a static and immobile object, developed according to certain scenarios.The second strategy considered in the study is the "border expansion strategy". In this situation, the creative space itself is a birthplace of new ideas and networks, represented by a hub, and in this case, the place itself contributes to the development of people involved in working in it.Thus, in the study, based on the consideration of a specific case, we analyzed how city activists build strategies for the transformation and development of the creative space of the territory of the former ZYAB plant and what meanings they invest in the development of this territory, how they position their right to the city.