Creative economies and spontaneous city design
Introduction
Cities are living organisms shaped not only by urban plans and infrastructure projects, but also by the spontaneous, creative interventions of their inhabitants. These interventions—ranging from street art to cultural pop-ups, from citizen-led renovations to informal markets—breathe life into the urban fabric and serve as catalysts for new ideas and create city identity. At the same time, the entrepreneurial and economic value that often emerges from these creative expressions can have profound implications for how cities evolve, who gets to participate, and what values are developed or lost in the process.
Creative economies and spontaneous city design are integral to the development of urban areas that balance cultural expression with economic growth. This involves navigating the tension between allowing creative actors the freedom to express culture and the benefits to generate new artistic city assets within urban environments that contribute to economic development. This involves understanding how cities can leverage their cultural and creative resources to enhance economic performance, identity, and social welfare while navigating the complexities of state/country participation, public spaces/resources proper use and urban planning.
There are also some well identified interdependencies in the cultural ecosystems which drive emerging inequalities and power tensions in the creative city. These socio-economic inequalities are related to the agency of cultural workers and how much the so-called creative city accommodates the right to express one's own agency in the cultural-artistic-creative production of the city.
This monograph examines the interplay between creative economies and spontaneous city design, posing critical questions about how to balance realized economic values with the freedom of creative actors; how to protect the right to artistic and cultural expression while recognizing creative production as a valuable urban asset; and what role policy makers, city officials, and community leaders can play in fostering environments conducive to these vibrant, unconventional transformations. Ultimately, the publication aims to spotlight the untapped potential of spontaneous design for shaping more inclusive, dynamic urban realities—and to propose frameworks that encourage cities around the world to nurture, rather than stifle, this creative, collective energy.
Creative Economies and Urban Identity
Creative economies contribute significantly to the social welfare and identity of cities. They encompass various sectors such as visual communication, product design, and performing arts, which can be pivotal in formulating city branding and identity (Ayu, Dwihantoro & Pradhana, 2021). The cultural and creative character of cities is a strategic asset that can enhance regional economic performance. Creative cities contribute to the economic output of their regions/countries by leveraging cultural vibrancy and creative economies. This effect is amplified when local conditions such as human capital, openness, and quality governance are present, creating a self-supporting system that benefits economic, social, cultural, and environmental domains. Creative cities often leverage their cultural vibrancy to support regional economic output, with local context conditions like human capital and governance playing a crucial role in catalysing these effects (Cerisola & Panzera, 2021). The more creative City, the stronger Identity, then better attractiveness for talent (Ondiviela, 2021).
Creative Clusters and Urban Regeneration
Creative cities often develop through the formation of creative clusters, which can be categorized into cultural clusters and event clusters. Cultural clusters are typically initiated by local administrations and revolve around activities like fine arts and design, while event clusters develop from major events and cultural manifestations. These clusters contribute to urban regeneration by fostering local identity and economic growth through innovative projects and local development strategies (Sepe, 2014).
Globalization and Competition
Creative cities are increasingly interconnected in a global network, competing and cooperating on a worldwide scale. This globalization of creative cities is driven by shifts in technology and production structures, which facilitate economic and cultural innovation. However, this also presents challenges, as cities must balance the need for competitiveness with the preservation of local culture and identity (Scott, 2006).
The Trajectory of Creative Cities: From Public Good to Market Asset
Creative cities have moved from fostering culture, creativity, and innovation as public goods to exploiting them as financial assets. As state/country support decreases, culture is reframed as an economic driver, aligning with market dynamics and commodification. This shift results in significant economic and cultural polarization, favouring certain cultural productions and marginalizing others, while intensifying urban gentrification.
State/Country Participation and Artistic Autonomy
The role of the state/country in creative city development varies significantly across regions. In China, state participation is prominent and shapes the dynamics of creative networking and artistic autonomy, contrasting with the more implicit state involvement seen in Euro-American contexts (Chang, 2019). This state-led approach can hold specific narratives of urbanization, influencing how artistic and cultural activities are integrated into city planning.
The Role of Culture in Society: From Shared Meaning to Marketed Creativity
Culture traditionally serves as a sphere for creating shared meanings, stories, and narratives rooted in local contexts. Yet, the term "creative" has supplanted "cultural," emphasizing market-oriented outputs over societal and community engagement. (d’Ovidio & Cossu, 2017)
Challenges and Adaptation in Creative Cities
Creative cities face the challenge of balancing economic growth with cultural expression. The need for continuous adaptation is a hallmark of cultural production within urban spaces, as cities must navigate the dual role of fostering adaptability while managing the pressures of constant change (Thiel, 2017). This adaptability is crucial for maintaining the cultural and economic vibrancy of cities in the face of globalization and economic shifts. This is very patent in Japan (Kakiuchi, 2016).
The Problem: Exclusion and marginalisation
In the creative city, culture increasingly serves market needs, often neglecting its societal purpose. Many individuals and groups are excluded from meaningful cultural participation, losing their “right to the creative city”, namely, their ability to express themselves, their shared values and losing their agency, as cultural producers, in the city. (d’Ovidio, 2016)
Case Study: Contemporary Art Scene in Milan
Research on Milan’s contemporary art highlights two distinct yet interconnected subsystems: powerful institutions (e.g., large foundations, private galleries) and independent spaces with limited resources. While these independent spaces drive rich artistic production, they face systemic marginalization and struggle within a commodified cultural ecosystem.
Policy and Planning in Creative Cities
The implementation of creative city policies often involves a complex interplay between public administration and civil society. Successful creative cities require policies that support cultural and creative activities while ensuring social cohesion and sustainability. This involves creating spaces for public debate and community engagement, as seen in the hybrid partnerships managing creative spaces in Barcelona (García, Eizaguirre & Pradel, 2015). However, there are inherent contradictions in creative city policies, such as the precariousness of creative work and the displacement of creative workers due to urban planning strategies (Vivant, 2013). Municipalities often struggle to translate the theoretical frameworks of creative economies into practical policies. While cities like Austin and Toronto embrace the creative city model, they frequently adapt conventional economic strategies to fit cultural economy activities, highlighting the complexity of integrating creative city concepts into urban planning (Grodach, 2013). The European Union's network of creative cities exemplifies a proactive approach, emphasizing the need for long-term vision and investment in cultural heritage and activities, leaning on the three C’s for a proactive creative city (Culture, Communication and Cooperation) (Carta, 2009).
Spaces of Hope and policy recommendations: Resisting Market Dominance Through Plurality
Independent cultural spaces offer a counterpoint to market-driven systems, fostering diversity and connection across urban divides. These spaces thrive through collaboration, reclaiming abandoned areas, and embracing multiple voices (d’Ovidio & Morató, 2017). To sustain this, material resources, institutional recognition, and participatory frameworks are essential for their survival and growth.
Conclusion
Creative economies and spontaneous city design require a delicate balance between fostering cultural expression and generating economic assets. While creative clusters and vibrant cultural economies can drive regional growth, effective policy and governance are crucial to ensuring that these developments are sustainable and inclusive. The global network of creative cities presents both opportunities and challenges, necessitating a nuanced approach to urban planning and cultural policy.
The interplay between creative economies and spontaneous city design underscores the importance of cultural expression in urban development. Cities must navigate the challenges of state/country participation, economic pressures, and policy implementation to foster environments where culture and creativity can thrive, ultimately enhancing both economic performance and urban identity.
Potential Research Goals
- Elucidate Theoretical Foundations
- What spontaneous city design might mean and what conditions it needs.
- How do we need to frame the creative economies if we want to see them as an interesting driver for spontaneous city design? Our suggestion is not to use the traditional sub-market approach, but to focus on the two axes of resources - values (value creation) and actors - governance (strategy). (Weckerle, Gerig & Söndermann, 2007). We need a new understanding of governance and a different view of/on creative actors.
- What is the mode of operation of a creative actor, are there underlying strategic patterns? How should we rethink the practice of governance if we take this seriously?
- Develop a robust framework for understanding the interconnections between spontaneous city design and creative economies.
- Analyse existing scholarship on informal urban interventions, creative placemaking, and grassroots innovation to position this monograph within broader interdisciplinary dialogues.
- Document and compare successful (and less successful) examples of creative, community-driven projects that have shaped urban space.
- Examine how local governments, cultural organizations, and grassroots actors collaborate—or fail to collaborate—in nurturing creativity and economic development.
- Propose methodologies for evaluating the social, cultural, and economic impacts of spontaneous urban interventions.
- Investigate strategies to quantify and communicate intangible benefits—such as community cohesion, cultural identity, and shared sense of place—that traditional metrics often overlook.
- Explore how policy frameworks either encourage or hinder grassroots creativity.
- Assess current regulatory, fiscal, and legal tools that could be adapted to balance creative freedom with responsible urban stewardship.
- Involve local stakeholders, from artists to neighbourhood residents, in shaping research questions and interpreting findings.
- Prioritize participatory research methods that highlight voices often underrepresented in formal urban planning processes.
- Provide practical insights and recommendations for municipal governments, cultural institutions, developers, and community leaders to foster spontaneous design.
- Suggest clear steps toward creating equitable frameworks that value both cultural expression and economic growth in the urban context.
- Position findings within an international discussion on urban innovation, cultural expression, and creative industries.
- Encourage knowledge exchange, inviting further study and collaboration across diverse cultural and geographical contexts.
The following lines of analysis are suggested / proposed:
1.- Mapping Networks of Creative Actors
Explore how grassroots collectives, local entrepreneurs, and institutional stakeholders form alliances or informal networks to drive creative projects in urban spaces.
2.- Evaluating Intangible Benefits
Investigate methods to gauge the cultural, social, and community-building impact of spontaneous city design, beyond standard economic indicators.
Creative cities foster cultural development, which attracts tourism and boosts economy, and economy rise attracts talent which is mainly creative talent. Is this a virtuous or a vicious cycle?
3.- Balancing Freedom and Regulation
Examine policy instruments, legal frameworks, and administrative tools that can either encourage or constrain creative interventions, focusing on how to maintain individual and collective freedoms within formal planning structures.
How could city managers stimulate creative cities? Should they propose strategic directions or allow free spontaneity? How to balance spontaneous creativity with best use of existing particular city assets/values?
4.- Analysing Stakeholder Perspectives
Delve into how local residents, artists, businesses, and policymakers perceive the value of creative economies and how these perceptions shape urban development strategies.
5.- Case Study Comparisons
Conduct comparative analyses of different cities or neighbourhoods to identify unique approaches—or common challenges—in fostering creative, spontaneous design.
6.- Spatial-Temporal Dimensions of Spontaneous Design
Investigate how ephemeral or pop-up interventions transform public spaces in short time frames, and whether they lead to long-term urban change.
7.- Interdisciplinary Collaborations
Examine opportunities for architects, urban planners, sociologists, economists, and cultural practitioners to collaboratively address urban complexity through creative practices.
8.- Scaling Up Innovations
Assess how small-scale, grassroots initiatives can be supported, replicated, or scaled to have broader impacts without losing their grassroots essence.
9.- Equitable Access and Inclusivity
Investigate how creative economies and spontaneous city design can be leveraged to include marginalized groups, ensuring representation and fair distribution of benefits.
Are creative cities turning into gentrified ones? Is culture access restricted to those living at expensive iconic cities? Is creativity growth creating inequality?
10.- Impact of Technology and Digital Platforms
Explore how social media, crowdfunding, and digital tools can broaden participation, visibility, and funding for spontaneous creative initiatives in the urban realm. How will Artificial Intelligence impact Creative Cities? AI is massive content creator, but not human…
Keywords: Creative City, Spontaneous Design, Urban Identity, City Assets, Gentrified City, Plurality, Diversity
Deadline: 01 June 2025
Coordinators:
Marianna d'Ovidio (she/her) is Associate Professor of Urban Sociology at the University of Milan Bicocca, where she is also Deputy Coordinator of the URBEUR PhD programme, Urban Studies in Europe. She teaches Spatial Organisation at undergraduate level and City Making in the European City at masters level. Her main research interests are cultural economy, creativity and social and cultural innovation, especially their interactions with local development and urban transformation. She has published extensively on the critical analysis of the creative and cultural sector in the local development of urban regions and on different forms of social innovation.
Christoph Weckerle is the founder and director of the Zurich Centre for Creative Economies (ZCCE). A professor at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), his teaching and research focus on the cultural sector and its multiple interfaces. Key interests include value creation, governance, and the creative economies. He is a national and international consultant, serving on the boards of European umbrella organizations and funding agencies. He is also an Associate Fellow at the Collegium Helveticum, where he researches the interface between art, technology and science. Prof. Christoph Weckerle | ZHdK.ch
Prof. José Antonio Ondiviela is Director Citizen-Centric Intelligent Cities Research Institute at UFV (Universidad Francisco Vitoria, Madrid). In addition, he serves as Strategy Senior Advisor at City of Zaragoza (Spain) and he participates as Associate Member of Urban Innovators Global. https://www.urbaninnovators.global/ . Former Microsoft Western Europe Public Sector Government Industry Advisor for Cities&Regions. (29 years) (1 March 2024), he is a frequent speaker at International events like SmartCityExpo, SmartCityExpo-MIAMI, Mobile World Forum, TEDTalk, EU Events… and he is also UNESCO SmartCities SME Consultant. TEDx Organizer/Licensee TEDxUFV (Mar23, May24, June25). Telecommunications Engineer MS at UPM Madrid, Human Sciences MS at UFV Madrid, Enterprise and Institutional Communication Management MS at UAB Barcelona, and Financial Business MS online INSEAD. PhD at UFV, Madrid with Thesis “Beyond SmartCities: How to create an Attractive City for Talented Citizens”. 175 World Cities Analysed since 2020. All research information at: http://attractivecities.com ORCID (Academic Profile): https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6732-8754
