Introduction: What are creative cities?

David Emanuel Andersson

Chapter 1 in Understanding Creative Cities, 2026, pp 1-12 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: While the function of cities as agglomerations of creative activities is not a new phenomenon, it has become more important in postindustrial societies. There are a number of factors that help some cities cultivate creativity to a greater extent than others. Individualist cultural values facilitate the creative discovery process by making weak ties among dissimilar individuals more likely. The rule of law supports creative endeavours with long time horizons. Economic diversification facilitates the discovery of new combinations of ideas from disparate sources. Finally, openness to interaction with other parts of the world may speed up the dissemination of novel ideas.

Keywords: Creativity; Entrepreneurship; Cultural Values; Agglomeration Economies; Diversification; Population Dversity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035338344
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