Evaluation of the creative performance of Constantine’s major urban planning steps

Abstract

This article aims to evaluate urban planning instruments and projects’ urban creativity performance and their capacity to offer favorable conditions for the evolution of Constantine towards the model of the creative city. Thus, we have opted for a multicriteria analysis, and we have constructed an “urban creativity index”, from a review of the literature and from empirical and theoretical indices. 14 dimensions and 100 criteria were identified. The results show that creativity is represented by reference to culture and innovation, and by reference to the process of modernization and transformation implying renovation in thinking in the urban. Constantine’s three main planning instruments contribute to urban creativity and to the city’s evolution towards the ‘creative city model’ by providing the most necessary factors. Both hard and soft infrastructures, through urban projects, events, urban renewal, requalification, and restoration operations aim to contribute to urban and economic development, attractiveness and competitiveness, and quality improvement. The cultural and strategic dimensions have enregistered the high scores in the three instruments with the dominance of: social dimensions in the Modernization Plan for the Constantine Metropolis, innovative and business dimensions in the Urban Modernization Project, and Cultural dimensions in Constantine Capital of Arab Culture. In terms of creative action, the urban planning in Constantine since 2007 has become strategic planning. Three creative city strategies and policies have been employed: ‘image transformation’, ‘place marketing’, and ‘territorialized production systems’. With these projects and events, urban development and planning is moving from an urban engineering-driven approach to creative city-making.