Creative cities

With the widely acknowledged shift to a knowledge-based or learning economy, creative cities have become the key locus for the creation of economic value by supporting innovation, resilience and quality enhancement.2 Second, we should nurture the development of creative cities because they have the potential to enhance quality of life and opportunity for a broad cross-section of Canadians. [...] A narrow reading of the recent arguments concerning creativity and its role in the economy implies that creative cities are merely the playground for a hip, young, well-educated, affluent, technologically savvy class of workers – a “plug-and-play-ground” for twenty- and thirty-something members of the creative class. [...] In the first instance, a critical mass of occupationally similar colleagues in a particular place signals some very important qualities and characteristics of the local economy: the presence of a well-developed labour market offering a rich portfolio of employment opportunities, now and in the future; and the opportunity to learn from one’s peers who are engaged in exciting work at the leading edg [...] Working under the auspices of the Design Industry Advisory Committee and Toronto’s Design Exchange, researchers have succeeded in documenting the full extent of design activity within the Ontario economy and the contributions of design skills and creativity to a wide range of sectors.9 Among the study’s more significant findings: • The design workforce (defined occupationally to include graphic, i [...] Federal Policy and the Creative City In many ways, all of the measures taken by the federal government to enhance the health, prosperity and social stability of Canadians shape the context for the positive evolution of urban regions.