tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/creative-cities-39572/articlesCreative cities – The Conversation2021-02-09T16:22:31Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1533942021-02-09T16:22:31Z2021-02-09T16:22:31ZWill the COVID pandemic cause London’s population to decline?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381346/original/file-20210129-19-80nkkc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3483%2C2292&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-river-thames-part-central-574107499">heliray/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The purpose of a city is to allow people to live and work close together, so social distancing has the potential to threaten cities’ very existence. </p>
<p>A recent <a href="https://image.uk.info.pwc.com/lib/fe31117075640475701c74/m/3/ab9cf413-ac81-40eb-a803-84542c05e42c.pdf">report</a> by audit and consultancy firm PwC predicts that the impact of COVID-19 will lead <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jan/07/london-population-decline-first-time-since-1988-report-covid-home-working">London</a> to see its first population decline in decades. Is this set to be a blip, quickly reversed – or a turning point which will mark the start of long-term population decline in the city?</p>
<p>Steady population change is normally easy to forecast by projecting forward existing trends, but identifying turning points is much harder. However, we can gain insight by looking at past turning points in London’s population. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Time series graph showing total population for Greater London, and its sub-divisions into inner and outer London" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380342/original/file-20210124-23-a70ep4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380342/original/file-20210124-23-a70ep4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380342/original/file-20210124-23-a70ep4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380342/original/file-20210124-23-a70ep4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380342/original/file-20210124-23-a70ep4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380342/original/file-20210124-23-a70ep4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380342/original/file-20210124-23-a70ep4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Greater London population 1851-2019.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">1961-2019: Office of National Statistics mid-year population estimates; 1851-1951: calculations by author from GB Historical GIS</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>The graph shows that from 1850 the population of Greater London grew steadily, before declining between 1951 and 1988. This was then followed by new expansion.</p>
<p>By 1900, inner London was almost completely built up, and improved public transport let people live further from work, so expansion moved outward. The population decline in the city after 1950 was the product of <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1796533?seq=1">government policy</a>. The <a href="https://www.historytoday.com/green-belt">green belt</a> limited London’s sprawl, and bombed inner city areas were rebuilt at lower densities. Inner city residents moved to new and expanded towns built beyond the green belt.</p>
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<img alt="Table showing percentage change in total population of local government wards in each ten-year period 1951 to 2011" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380341/original/file-20210124-13-1sjwvzo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380341/original/file-20210124-13-1sjwvzo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380341/original/file-20210124-13-1sjwvzo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380341/original/file-20210124-13-1sjwvzo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=235&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380341/original/file-20210124-13-1sjwvzo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380341/original/file-20210124-13-1sjwvzo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380341/original/file-20210124-13-1sjwvzo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Inter censal population change 1951-2011, by distance from central London.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Calculations by author from 1961 census report and later Census Small Area Statistics.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>This table shows the impact of these policies. Together with colleagues, I used detailed statistics from every census between 1951 and 2011 to estimate the populations of each local government ward, as defined in 2011. We then grouped the wards into rings by their distance from the centre of London, and calculated rates of change for each decade. The ring with fastest growth is shown in green, and the most rapid decline (or slowest growth) in blue.</p>
<p>In all decades from 1951 to 1991, the innermost ring, within five miles of Nelson’s Column, shrank fastest. The band between 15 and 20 miles out roughly corresponds to the green belt, and in the 1950s the next ring out, containing the original new towns, grew fastest. After this, the fastest growth took place far outside any definition of Greater London, but was still based on workers commuting into London or otherwise serving London’s economy.</p>
<p>The second turning point is emphatic: from 1991, the innermost ring went directly from decline to being the fastest growing part of the city. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, 1980s dock closures and manufacturing decline freed up large areas for new housing, often apartment complexes clustered around transport links. </p>
<p>Secondly, the deregulation of London’s financial markets in 1986 – known as the “<a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bigbang.asp">Big Bang</a>” – boosted London’s financial services, while pre-internet computer networks allowed London to dominate financial markets globally. This resulted in longer working hours, discouraging long commutes from outside the city. </p>
<p>More broadly, increased <a href="https://www.lse.ac.uk/geography-and-environment/research/lse-london/documents/Reports/2020-LSE-Density-Report-digital.pdf">population density</a> in inner London was a result of the rise of the “<a href="https://www.dezeen.com/2020/11/02/coronavirus-cities-affordable-creatives-richard-florida/">creative city</a>”. Cultural industries are hard to identify in employment statistics, but London is clearly a dominant world city not just in finance but in sectors such as fashion and video production. </p>
<p>These sectors do not need large or specialised factories, but do need easy interaction between many small firms, and a flexible, often freelance workforce – so they gravitated not to science parks but to old workshops in central districts like Soho and Shoreditch.</p>
<h2>The impact of lockdown</h2>
<p>The immediate consequences of the pandemic are clear: after a year confined to their homes, city dwellers are looking for more space. Upmarket estate agent <a href="https://www.knightfrank.co.uk/research/article/2020-12-29-country-house-price-growth-finishes-2020-on-a-high">Knight Frank</a> has described 2020 as “dominated by the escape to the country trend”. A particularly high proportion of London’s workers normally sit at computer screens, allowing for a rapid shift to home working. If any London residents have second homes in the country – something that does not show up in existing census data – they may have been spending more time there. </p>
<p>These trends are real, and maybe permanent. However, the counter-argument is that once social distancing ends, the gravitational pull of the city will reassert itself. Inner London’s post-1990 resurgence was driven by creative sectors that now appear well suited to home working, so we need to understand what more they need from a location than a computer and a network connection. </p>
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<img alt="View of street and shops" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381350/original/file-20210129-17-bhfbg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/381350/original/file-20210129-17-bhfbg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381350/original/file-20210129-17-bhfbg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381350/original/file-20210129-17-bhfbg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381350/original/file-20210129-17-bhfbg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381350/original/file-20210129-17-bhfbg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/381350/original/file-20210129-17-bhfbg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Creative industries have flocked to locations like Soho in central London.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-uk-may-15-2019-shopping-1525225043">JJFarq/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>London’s gravitational pull is partly lifestyle. A young and educated workforce prefers nightclubs and theatres to large gardens, so long as they are not closed. The ease of international travel from London – before quarantine – is also a draw. But for businesses, too, the higher costs of operating from a city are accompanied by real economic benefits. </p>
<p>Creativity is far harder in isolation: many of us are learning that we can write, compose or even perform from home, but this is not always enjoyable or inspiring. Sustaining creative industries needs cities. In financial services, traders can beat the financial markets only if they know something the other guy does not, so need access to to less formal information circuits – to gossip.</p>
<p>The networks that led to London’s dominance of financial services from the early 1990s promoted a division of labour around the globe, with routine back office work moving from towns like Worthing to locations such as India. However, the dealmakers, and elite workforces in many other globalised sectors, did not disperse – despite inner London’s higher costs.</p>
<p>As long as the pandemic is brought to an end, then, it is unlikely to lead to a turning point in London’s population. While the internet allows for remote working, the past 30 years has shown that the value of working in close proximity with others can outweigh this benefit.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/153394/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Humphrey Southall has undertaken projects funded by the Greater London Authority, the European Union Regional Policy Directorate (DG6) and the Centre for Cities to redistrict historical census data so as to construct long-run time series, and this article draws on the results. The original construction of the historical GIS used for redistricting and the computerisatioon of historical census statistics were funded by the Aurelius Trist, the Big Lottery Fund, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Joint Information Systems Committee, the Leverhulme Trust, the Marc Fitch Fund, the Nuffield Foundation, the Population Investigation Committee and the Wellcome Trust. He is a member of the Labour Party. </span></em></p>Once the pandemic is over, London’s gravitational pull is likely to come back into play.Humphrey Southall, Professor of Historical Geography, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1001392019-10-29T12:56:41Z2019-10-29T12:56:41ZCities don’t have to copy hipster trends to prosper – they can embrace what makes them unique<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299224/original/file-20191029-183103-1ieiqoo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5898%2C3920&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Look familiar?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/shoreditch-london-england-uk-april-2019-1410928691?src=WX6RX42QN9HEVY_9OJaGPg-1-1">Drimafilm/Shutterstock.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>London, New York, Tokyo, Paris and Hong Kong – these famous cities dominate the world economy and are home to millions of people, as well as internationally renown arts, culture and educational institutions. But they are hardly representative of the rest of the world’s cities. While <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?end=2016&start=1960&view=chart">54% of the global population</a> lives in cities, around half of those live in cities that have <a href="http://www.urbanet.info/world-urban-population/">500,000 inhabitants or fewer</a>.</p>
<p>These “ordinary” cities can be overlooked by politicians, investors, researchers and big businesses. But they are dynamic places with <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.0020-2754.1997.00411.x">many layers</a> of social, cultural and economic significance. After experiencing a period of post-industrial decline, many such cities are looking to change their fortunes, through urban regeneration programmes. </p>
<p>But that doesn’t mean they have to follow the same path as other urban areas. In fact, <a href="https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/emily-hopkins(b6aa36ec-aae0-4a4f-b359-fff682d572be).html">my research</a> into urban development has found that ordinary cities can avoid some of the ill-effects of regeneration, by embracing what makes them unique. </p>
<h2>The creative city</h2>
<p>At the turn of the century, city leaders became increasingly fixated on the idea of the “creative city”, championed by academics-turned-advisers including <a href="https://creativeclass.com/rfcgdb/articles/4%20Cities%20and%20the%20Creative%20Class.pdf">Richard Florida</a> and <a href="http://charleslandry.com/themes/creative-cities-index/">Charles Landry</a>. The idea was to encourage a “creative class” of talented workers to make their homes and businesses in cities, by creating urban spaces that are <a href="https://creativeclass.com/rfcgdb/articles/4%20Cities%20and%20the%20Creative%20Class.pdf">open, inclusive and diverse</a>, as well as attractive and technologically advanced. </p>
<p>“Regeneration” became a buzzword associated with these types of strategies, which seek to repurpose seemingly disused or rundown spaces to support an economy led by creative and technological industries. The apparent success of creative city policies was seen in post-industrial centres such as Detroit, US, following investments in cultural, artistic and musical <a href="https://www.citylab.com/life/2012/05/how-detroit-rising/1997/">urban renewal</a>. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299208/original/file-20191029-183147-16qsarx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299208/original/file-20191029-183147-16qsarx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299208/original/file-20191029-183147-16qsarx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299208/original/file-20191029-183147-16qsarx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299208/original/file-20191029-183147-16qsarx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299208/original/file-20191029-183147-16qsarx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299208/original/file-20191029-183147-16qsarx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Downtown Detroit, US.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-downtown-detroit-twilight-michigan-512268163?src=M6Jxm-OSNm93SaiYH17PnA-1-16">f11photo/Shutterstock.</a></span>
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<p>Such policies swiftly became the go-to strategy for seemingly “ordinary” post-industrial cities around the world, even resulting in <a href="http://charleslandry.com/themes/creative-cities-index/">new rankings</a> that pit cities against each other, based on criteria including entrepreneurship, urban leadership and “liveability”. Having plenty of former industrial spaces that can be adapted for new uses, and a desire to be noticed on the national or global stage, encourages investment in urban regeneration from both public and private sources.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/liveable-cities-rankings-how-a-global-enterprise-is-influencing-urban-change-113948">Liveable cities rankings: how a global enterprise is influencing urban change</a>
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<h2>The downsides</h2>
<p>Yet regeneration programmes inspired by the creative city agenda can cause problems. Property developers and foreign investors have recognised the economic potential of real estate in “creative” cities. This has led to <a href="https://theconversation.com/investment-in-urban-land-is-on-the-rise-we-need-to-know-who-owns-our-cities-63485">rocketing land costs</a>, and many low-income residents have felt the effects of <a href="https://theconversation.com/camerons-sink-estate-strategy-comes-at-a-human-cost-53358">being displaced</a> from their homes. </p>
<p>What’s more, creative city policies can lead to similar development techniques being applied to dissimilar places. For example, accusations of <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/uk/oli-mould/why-culture-competitions-and-artwashing-drive-urban-inequality">“artwashing”</a> are now common in cities across the world, as authorities or developers commission artists and cultural institutions to run creative projects in an area, to help it become more appealing to tourists and young people – sometimes at the expense of those who live there. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/artwashing-gentrification-is-a-problem-but-vilifying-the-artists-involved-is-not-the-answer-83739">'Artwashing' gentrification is a problem – but vilifying the artists involved is not the answer</a>
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<p>But “ordinary” cities can champion their individuality to avoid this fate. Take my home of Coventry, UK, for example: a post-industrial city looking to modernise. Located in the West Midlands, with a population of around <a href="http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/195/facts_about_coventry/2435/population_and_demographics/1">360,000</a>, Coventry will be the third <a href="https://coventry2021.co.uk/">UK City of Culture in 2021</a> – a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/competition-launches-to-find-uk-city-of-culture-2021">title designed</a> to “use culture as a catalyst for economic and social regeneration”. </p>
<p>During my PhD fieldwork there, I’ve investigated how Coventry has drawn on its rich history and culture to resist generic creative city policies. Though the residents I spoke to have not always felt included in regeneration efforts, there is still much to be learned from the city’s approach to urban renewal. </p>
<h2>Sent to Coventry</h2>
<p>Coventry’s <a href="https://coventry2021.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Coventry-2021-public-final-BID-document.pdf">City of Culture bid</a> sought to show how the regeneration programme would be local, personal and inclusive of the city’s diversity. And in some ways, it has been successful. As the home of bands including The Specials and The Selecter, Coventry was a launch pad for the anti-racist, two-tone music scene in the 1980s. The <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-40719469">2Tone taxi</a> project celebrates the ska scene, as well as Coventry’s role in manufacturing London’s iconic black cabs; while touring the city in a taxi, passengers can find out more about the people and places of Coventry, as well as adding their own suggestions for the itinerary. </p>
<p>Another inclusive project which has been part of the lead up to City of Culture 2021 is the <a href="https://coventry2021.co.uk/foleshill-mile-map-launched/">Foleshill Mile Map</a>, co-created with local communities to pinpoint the multicultural offerings in one of Coventry’s neighbourhoods. Not only does this champion local input through collaborative working, it also reflects Coventry’s identity as one of the <a href="https://www.ukpopulation.org/coventry-population/">most ethnically diverse cities</a> in the UK. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299226/original/file-20191029-183128-1up6blo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299226/original/file-20191029-183128-1up6blo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299226/original/file-20191029-183128-1up6blo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299226/original/file-20191029-183128-1up6blo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299226/original/file-20191029-183128-1up6blo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299226/original/file-20191029-183128-1up6blo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299226/original/file-20191029-183128-1up6blo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=528&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Lisbon’s LX Factory.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/30478819@N08/33547758052/sizes/l/">wuestenigel/Flickr.</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Yet as more cities seek to emphasise their cultural assets, city leaders and policy makers must be aware of the negative impacts that can arise if local residents are not central to the decision-making process. For example, in Lisbon, Portugal, the arrival of the Time Out Market and LX Factory creative village have increased tourism, leading to <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-portugal-protests-housing/protesters-denounce-gentrification-in-lisbon-as-housing-prices-soar-idUKKCN1M20UM">anti-gentrification protests</a> and even <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/23/world/europe/lisbon-portugal-revival.html">laws being enforced</a> to avoid displacing long-term residents, as rents continue to rise. This highlights the need to consider local contexts and communities before implementing copy cat creative policies. </p>
<p>As witnesses of vast social and cultural change over the past century, Coventrians can offer a new outlook on an often overlooked city, and prove that being “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Send_to_Coventry">sent to Coventry</a>” need not be a punishment. Culture-led regeneration processes, such as the UK City of Culture title, can offer opportunities to attract investment and increase the civic pride among citizens. And Coventry shows how other “ordinary” cities can approach urban renewal, with local stories and communities at the heart of the process. But authorities and leaders must be careful to maintain this priority throughout the journey – or risk repeating the same mistakes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100139/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Hopkins receives funding from South East Doctoral Training Centre, funded by the Economic Social Research Council. </span></em></p>Half the world’s urban population live in cities with 500,000 inhabitants or fewer – it’s time to celebrate these ‘ordinary’ cities.Emily Hopkins, PhD Researcher, Royal Holloway University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/778102017-12-07T13:43:47Z2017-12-07T13:43:47ZMali’s cultural capital shows how citizen-centred development can trump gentrification<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195457/original/file-20171120-18547-mvvexr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ségou is rich in arts and crafts, and has built its famous festival around the performing arts.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Guillaume Colin & Pauline Penot/Flickr</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the first week of every February, the streets of Ségou in Mali come to life. Residents from the capital, Bamako, flock to the secondary city to escape the busyness of everyday life and absorb the sights, sounds and colours of the <a href="http://www.festivalsegou.org/">Festival sur le Niger</a>, along the banks of the Niger River.</p>
<p>The attractions include traditional dances and performances, theatre plays and music showcases. There’s also a West African regional art craft fair, artistic residencies, visual arts exhibitions and a colloquium. Spontaneous sideline events abound in hotels and restaurants. The festival will stage its 14th edition in February 2018.</p>
<p>Over the past 10 years, Ségou – with its architectural heritage, creative craftsmanship and natural landscape – has established itself as Mali’s cultural capital. This has happened because local government, local artists and broader civil society actors have worked together to create a cultural development policy focused on sustainable local economic development. Arts and culture programmes have been collectively designed and implemented, drawing on local resources, <a href="http://www.academia.edu/12100748/Maaya_entrepreneurship">knowledge, strategies and institutions</a>. </p>
<p>This homegrown policy has residents’ long-term well being at its heart. It is based on the city’s specific cultural identity and supports local cultural operators and enterprises. And, importantly, it encourages access to culture for all. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197610/original/file-20171204-19632-1h3zpmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197610/original/file-20171204-19632-1h3zpmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197610/original/file-20171204-19632-1h3zpmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197610/original/file-20171204-19632-1h3zpmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197610/original/file-20171204-19632-1h3zpmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197610/original/file-20171204-19632-1h3zpmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197610/original/file-20171204-19632-1h3zpmc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Local artists and citizens are the drivers of inclusive, sustainable urban cultural development.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This inclusive, sustainable, citizen
centred model of urban cultural development is fundamentally different from Johannesburg’s <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/multimedia/2015/3/Gentrification-in-Johannesburg.html">Maboneng</a> cultural district or Istanbul’s <a href="https://urbanpoliticalecologyblog.wordpress.com/2017/11/24/eco-gentrification-the-golden-horn-estuary-project/">waterfront Golden Horn</a>. Here, the idea of the “<a href="https://www.demos.co.uk/files/thecreativecity.pdf">creative city</a>” has been used to justify aggressive neoliberal policies of “regeneration” and gentrification. These enrich a few and <a href="https://jacobinmag.com/2017/08/new-urban-crisis-review-richard-florida">contribute to</a> urban inequality. </p>
<p>But as Ségou’s journey shows, there is another way to manage and nurture the urban creative economy. Now four other cities on the continent are following Ségou’s lead. They are working towards developing cultural policies and programmes that bring together the objectives of sustainable local economic development, cultural diversity and social cohesion. </p>
<h2>The case of Ségou and its annual festival</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.festivalsegou.org/">Festival sur le Niger</a> was created in 2005 by Ségou’s tourism and cultural entrepreneurs. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195456/original/file-20171120-18574-6ltipz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195456/original/file-20171120-18574-6ltipz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195456/original/file-20171120-18574-6ltipz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195456/original/file-20171120-18574-6ltipz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195456/original/file-20171120-18574-6ltipz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195456/original/file-20171120-18574-6ltipz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195456/original/file-20171120-18574-6ltipz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195456/original/file-20171120-18574-6ltipz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Performers at the Festival sur le Niger.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hugues/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another initiative organised by the Foundation is the <a href="http://segouvillecreative.com/accueil/">Ségou Creative City</a> project. It happens in collaboration with the city’s local authorities through a public-private partnership initiated by local people from the art, craft, tourism and economic sectors. This is called the <a href="http://www.cpelsegou.org">Council for the Promotion of the Local Economy of Ségou</a>. </p>
<p>The council focuses on four key areas: music, visual arts, design/fashion and heritage. It has developed a comprehensive plan for the city’s sustainable cultural development. This includes, for instance, a Ségou Woven Loinclothes certified label for the preservation and promotion of Mali’s woven loincloth and cotton.</p>
<p>It has created a unique cultural centre, Centre Kôré. This boasts an art library, conference room, outdoor stage and recording studio. It also launched the Biennale Ségou Art in 2016, a fair that promotes visual art.</p>
<h2>Five creative cities leading the way</h2>
<p>Ségou and its Festival sur le Niger have inspired four other African cities: Harare (Zimbabwe), Mahé-Victoria (Seychelles), Nouakchott (Mauritania) and Pointe Noire (Republic of Congo). Each has its own specific cultural identity to promote and preserve. And of course, each has its own distinctive challenges. </p>
<p>Harare has innovative cultural spaces in theatre, music and sculpture. But local government support and policies for arts and culture have not changed since the country was still called Rhodesia, in 1979. </p>
<p>Mahé-Victoria’s historically rich cultural creativity has tended to be overshadowed by the archipelago’s incredible natural beauty. In Pointe-Noire the image of an industrial oil city has often hidden a dense cosmopolitan life and visual arts scene. </p>
<p>Nouakchott is culturally diverse. But the city still begs for more spaces of expression and encounters for its multiple cultural heritage and living traditions. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197613/original/file-20171204-19596-1xl0zze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/197613/original/file-20171204-19596-1xl0zze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=220&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197613/original/file-20171204-19596-1xl0zze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=220&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197613/original/file-20171204-19596-1xl0zze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=220&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197613/original/file-20171204-19596-1xl0zze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=276&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197613/original/file-20171204-19596-1xl0zze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=276&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/197613/original/file-20171204-19596-1xl0zze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=276&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">African Artists and other members of the Arterial Network come together for the ‘Message in a Bottle’ art exhibition in Mahe, Seychelles.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Each of these cities participates in the <a href="http://www.arterialnetwork.org/article/launch_creative_cities">African Creative Cities Programme</a> of the <a href="http://www.arterialnetwork.org/">Arterial Network</a>. </p>
<p>The programmes develops cultural markets across national boundaries by creating professional partnerships and touring circuits for artistic productions. The cities have already exchanged theatre and music performances as well as visual arts exhibitions. This enhances pan-African collaborations among creators and event promoters. </p>
<p>Above all, the programme aims to assist the four pilot cities to develop their own urban cultural policies, drawing on the important lessons of Ségou. </p>
<p>Seminars and workshops dedicated to describing cultural identities for each city took place this year. A working team and consultative commission was identified for each city. Roles and responsibilities were allocated to each member based on their expertise. Further artistic exchanges and capacity-building sessions will follow in 2018. The objective is to renew the experiment and move from five to ten cities across the continent for another two-year round – and more.</p>
<h2>The cultural polis: a citizen-centred approach</h2>
<p>Ségou’s experience shows that ordinary citizens are crucial actors when designing and enacting cultural development processes. They can play an important role in informing policymakers about their cities’ potential for culture and creativity. By advocating for investments in programmes they can support policymakers in clarifying their roles, actions and responsibilities for cultural development. </p>
<p>Public institutions must then listen and seriously respond to what is being voiced by people in the cultural sector. This will allow them to make arts and culture central to sustainable urban policymaking and development.</p>
<p>This dynamic, collaborative process of discussion and engagement between civil society and local institutions is what I like to call a “<a href="http://research.gold.ac.uk/20042/">cultural polis</a>”. For cities – in Africa and beyond – that want to build their urban cultural economies while avoiding the pitfalls of gentrification, these endogenous experiences offer important insights.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77810/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. Jenny Mbaye is a member of the Cultural Policy Task Group of the pan-African not-for-profit organisation Arterial Network (AN). She has worked as scientific adviser to AN's pilot programme African Creative Cities Network (AACC).</span></em></p>Ségou in Mali has successfully developed its urban cultural economy in ways that’s inclusive, sustainable and context-sensitive.Jenny Mbaye, Lecturer in Culture and Creative Industries, City, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/830422017-08-29T20:11:05Z2017-08-29T20:11:05ZCan our cities’ thriving creative precincts be saved from ‘renewal’?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183565/original/file-20170828-3645-f2xgwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">At first glance, old industrial sites, like this one in Carrington Street, don't look like much. But they provide vital spaces for creative precincts to flourish.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Jones</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Governments are busily rezoning our cities for high-rise apartments. The New South Wales government, for example, plans to rezone a 20-kilometre corridor in Sydney, <a href="http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Plans-for-your-area/Priority-Growth-Areas-and-Precincts/Sydenham-to-Bankstown-Urban-Renewal-Corridor">from Sydenham to Bankstown</a>, for urban density, in concert with a new metro rail line. <a href="https://www.sydbankalliance.com/">Residents and community groups</a> have reacted vociferously to the prospects of high-rise buildings in previously low-density suburbs. </p>
<p>But there is another, overlooked dimension to the redevelopment. Much of it is on industrial land: pockets of old factories and workshops, portrayed as decrepit and in need of renewal. </p>
<p>Our <a href="http://www.urbanculturalpolicy.com/">new project</a> documents enterprises that actually use urban industrial lands. It’s a story of surprising and largely hidden vibrancy at the interface between creative industries and small manufacturing.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/create-to-regenerate-cities-tap-into-talent-for-urban-renewal-63992">Create to regenerate: cities tap into talent for urban renewal</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Planners and economic developers tend to assume manufacturing has left central cities and that manufacturing enterprises can simply locate to city-fringe greenfield sites. In reality, manufacturing is changing form, and often depends on – and benefits from – urban industrial lands.</p>
<p>Despite the scale of renewal plans, no detailed knowledge exists of what will be lost, or of existing enterprises’ needs. </p>
<h2>Manufacturing has a new, creative face</h2>
<p>In <a href="http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/%7E/media/Files/DPE/Reports/sydenham-bankstown-corridor-employment-analysis-2016-10.ashx">planning reports</a> for renewal strategies, industrial zones are seen as redundant because it’s assumed that manufacturing is in a state of inevitable decline. This is false and misleading.</p>
<p>Employment, exports, <a href="http://www.oecd.org/std/business-stats/entrepreneurship-at-a-glance-22266941.htm">enterprise formation</a> and <a href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/theausinstitute/pages/536/attachments/original/1464819264/Manufacturing_Still_Matters___Centre_for_Future_Work.pdf?1464819264">R&D investment statistics</a> all point to manufacturing’s endurance, as well as its transformation and increasingly diverse character. </p>
<p>Most manufacturers these days are small, agile and creative. Manufacturing is increasingly interwoven with creative industries, through innovation-driven additive manufacturing, craft-based production, and bespoke maker scenes. </p>
<p>Cities such as <a href="https://gmdconline.org/">New York</a> and <a href="https://www.portlandmade.com">Portland</a> are actively planning for this, because they recognise that the creative-manufacturing interface generates jobs, assists place marketing, contributes to liveability and enlivens local communities.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183569/original/file-20170828-30371-15xqowc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183569/original/file-20170828-30371-15xqowc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183569/original/file-20170828-30371-15xqowc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183569/original/file-20170828-30371-15xqowc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183569/original/file-20170828-30371-15xqowc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183569/original/file-20170828-30371-15xqowc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183569/original/file-20170828-30371-15xqowc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mia Penn, aka The Raisin Did It, makes clothes from vintage and rare fabrics in Sydney. Her suppliers and support services are all within a 2.5km radius.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Jones</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-can-our-cities-match-europes-for-finding-value-in-their-creative-vibe-80954">How can our cities match Europe’s for finding value in their creative vibe?</a></em></p>
<hr>
<h2>Creative-manufacturing favours older industrial sites</h2>
<p>There is, however, a planning dilemma cities must face. Enterprises at the interface tend to locate in inner-city industrial zones. This is where other relevant enterprises are co-located and buildings are more suitable, often older and lower rent, with limited restrictions on noise. </p>
<p>Like-minded micro-enterprises sub-let workshops or pods within older factory complexes. They cannot afford commercial rents in stand-alone buildings. Older industrial zones also provide access to distribution and business networks, cultural venues and institutions, and final markets. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183566/original/file-20170828-27547-1hnfo9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183566/original/file-20170828-27547-1hnfo9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183566/original/file-20170828-27547-1hnfo9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183566/original/file-20170828-27547-1hnfo9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183566/original/file-20170828-27547-1hnfo9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183566/original/file-20170828-27547-1hnfo9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183566/original/file-20170828-27547-1hnfo9f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Carrington Road, Marrickville, the natural inner-city habitat of creative micro-enterprises and small manufacturers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Jones</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These are the very zones favoured for major “renewal” schemes. In practically every case, this means medium- and high-rise apartments. Retail space is provided, typically at ground-floor level (which often sits vacant for months or years). </p>
<p>Ironically, the presence of creative industries <a href="http://rsa.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08111146.2014.967392">helps sell real estate</a>. But such renewal schemes rarely, if ever, provide replacement workshop space zoned for industrial uses. </p>
<h2>Carrington Rd, an unassuming creative-manufacturing hub</h2>
<p>Our <a href="http://www.urbanculturalpolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Made_in_Marrickville_DP170104255-201702.pdf">new report</a> documents enterprises in one such industrial precinct in Marrickville, inner Sydney, that’s slated for redevelopment. A single 700-metre-long stretch of Carrington Road is home to more than 200 diverse micro-enterprises and small manufacturers. </p>
<p>These have strong local ties, employing an estimated 1,800 workers. Fifteen discrete enterprise clusters thrive there. These include theatre production, puppet and prop-making, furniture restoration, fashion and textiles. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183564/original/file-20170828-27560-1bywwsg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183564/original/file-20170828-27560-1bywwsg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183564/original/file-20170828-27560-1bywwsg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=859&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183564/original/file-20170828-27560-1bywwsg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=859&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183564/original/file-20170828-27560-1bywwsg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=859&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183564/original/file-20170828-27560-1bywwsg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1080&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183564/original/file-20170828-27560-1bywwsg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1080&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183564/original/file-20170828-27560-1bywwsg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1080&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Functional clusters in Carrington Road, Marrickville.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Made in Marrickville report, 2017</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What underpins this pre-eminent creative-manufacturing interface precinct? It’s a combination of affordability, sympathetic landlords, industrial land use zoning, and a mix of small and large factory spaces with suitable features. </p>
<p>Proximity to the CBD, media corporations, major entertainment venues and iconic cultural institutions is vital. That’s because these firms supply stage sets, install event equipment, rent studios for photography, television and film shoots, and perform at corporate functions. </p>
<p>The social and cultural milieu of surrounding areas is also crucial. These areas generate nearby markets for locally made fashion, jewellery and ceramics. </p>
<h2>No consultation on a looming loss for the city</h2>
<p>Shockingly, enterprises in industrial zones potentially affected by this latest renewal strategy are not being consulted before rezoning. </p>
<p>NSW Planning and Environment commissioned a consultancy firm to <a href="http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/%7E/media/Files/DPE/Reports/sydenham-bankstown-corridor-employment-analysis-2016-10.ashx">investigate employment impacts</a> of proposed redevelopments throughout the Sydenham-Bankstown corridor. The report was a desktop study. Detailed site inspections “were not undertaken nor interviews or consultation with businesses in the Opportunity Sites”.</p>
<p>When we visited Marrickville’s creative-manufacturing enterprises, it became clear none had been consulted about the details of renewal plans for the precinct. They were unaware the closing date for public submissions was imminent. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183570/original/file-20170828-17108-wx69pt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/183570/original/file-20170828-17108-wx69pt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183570/original/file-20170828-17108-wx69pt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183570/original/file-20170828-17108-wx69pt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183570/original/file-20170828-17108-wx69pt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183570/original/file-20170828-17108-wx69pt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/183570/original/file-20170828-17108-wx69pt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kings Knitwear, on Carrington Road, is one of Sydney’s last woollen knitwear factories and supplies local makers and designers as well as national fashion brands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Jones</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Creative micro-enterprises and small manufacturers reported that city fringe relocation is not feasible. Rezoning this industrial space, one of inner Sydney’s last, may force enterprises to close altogether. Others said they would move overseas. </p>
<p>The loss for Sydney could be tragic. As one artisan said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If all the people who worked on this street worked in one company and were sacked, it’d be national headlines.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Similar processes are under way in Melbourne’s inner north, an iconic part of that city’s cultural profile. Rezoning in the name of urban density has given a green light to the conversion of old light industrial buildings into residential developments. </p>
<p>So, just as Creative Victoria establishes a <a href="http://capmelbourne.org/">Collingwood Arts Precinct</a> to host creative practitioners, tenants next door have been evicted to make way for a 12-storey apartment block. The developer has now objected to the potential noise from local venues.</p>
<h2>Learning from other global cities</h2>
<p>Our project’s next phase is to explore how other global cities foster creative and manufacturing enterprises. </p>
<p>Chicago has <a href="http://www.architecture.org/architecture-chicago/topics-news/retrofitting-buildings/5-things-to-know-about-chicagos-planned-manufacturing-districts/">planned manufacturing districts</a> and Portland, Oregon, has <a href="http://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=58694">industrial sanctuaries</a>. These are long-standing and successful examples of industrial land preservation. The <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01944360708978524">German zoning system</a> has also long mixed “non-disturbing” industry with other uses. </p>
<p>San Francisco’s <a href="http://sf-planning.org/about-eastern-neighborhoods">production, distribution and repair (PDR) zone</a> attempts to accommodate the growth of small manufacturers. New, higher-rent office development cross-subsidises lower-rent industrial space. Austin, Boston, Los Angeles and Nashville in the US and Vancouver, Canada, are pursuing similar policies.</p>
<p>In China, <a href="http://english.gov.cn/2016special/madeinchina2025/">Shenzhen</a>, the 21st-century “workshop of the world”, is looking to the “creative economy” not to replace but to enhance Chinese manufacturing prowess.</p>
<p>While growing cities like Sydney clearly need to plan for housing, another conversation in our cities is needed, not just about high-rise redevelopments, but about what’s at stake when industrial lands are rezoned.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article has been updated to correct a reference in a caption to Kings Knitwear being Sydney’s last woollen knitwear factory.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83042/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Gibson receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra Crosby is a board member of Frontyard Projects, a Marrickville-based arts organisation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carl Grodach receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin O'Connor receives funding from the Australian Research Council</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Xin Gu receives funding from Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Lyons does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new project documents who uses urban industrial lands slated for redevelopment. It reveals a vibrant but largely hidden sector at the interface between creative industries and small manufacturing.Chris Gibson, Director, UOW Global Challenges Program & Professor of Human Geography, University of WollongongAlexandra Crosby, Senior Lecturer, Design, University of Technology SydneyCarl Grodach, Professor Urban Planning & Design, Monash UniversityCraig Lyons, Research Assistant, Australian Centre for Culture, Environment, Society and Space (ACCESS), University of WollongongJustin O'Connor, Professor of Communications and Cultural Economy, Monash UniversityXin Gu, Lecturer in Communications and Media, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/820102017-08-07T09:49:18Z2017-08-07T09:49:18ZStokes Croft: the saga of one British neighbourhood reveals the perverse injustices of gentrification<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181117/original/file-20170806-21730-ghtg9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.aggiephotoflow.com">Agnès Lapin</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nowhere is the sharp injustice of gentrification so grossly demonstrated as in Stokes Croft. With its <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/jan/22/bristol-street-artists-banksy-city-legal-graffiti-walls-public-art">world renowned street art</a> and buzzing local scene, this area is the main fount of culture and creativity, which has propelled the city of Bristol to international fame. For many years, Stokes Croft has been a seat of resilience and rebellion against the inevitable creep of corporate interests into <a href="https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/stokes-croft-named-as-one-of-10-hippest-areas-in-the-uk/">“up-and-coming”</a> areas. </p>
<p>This is a place where locals staged a peaceful sit-in against the opening of a chain supermarket – a protest which <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/laurie-penny/2011/04/stokes-croft-police-tesco">escalated into riots</a> when local squatters were evicted by police a few days later. One of Banksy’s first murals – <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-32132450">The Mild, Mild West</a> – still remains, a beloved memorial to the ravers who resisted police in the 1990s. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181016/original/file-20170804-24770-b53n9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181016/original/file-20170804-24770-b53n9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181016/original/file-20170804-24770-b53n9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181016/original/file-20170804-24770-b53n9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181016/original/file-20170804-24770-b53n9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181016/original/file-20170804-24770-b53n9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181016/original/file-20170804-24770-b53n9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Stokes Croft: creative frontier.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kylaborg/10910810143/sizes/l">KylaBorg/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But like so many creative hubs before it, Stokes Croft is becoming a victim of its own trendiness. Now, one of the area’s most central hot spots – Hamilton House – is at risk of being redeveloped. In our research on <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0042098014536239">developments in Stokes Croft</a>, we traced the tragic arc of dereliction, rejuvenation and gentrification up to the current moment. </p>
<h2>The story so far</h2>
<p>It’s hard to imagine Stokes Croft without the hustle and bustle that surrounds Hamilton House. The building has thousands of visitors every day. It is home to <a href="https://www.canteenbristol.co.uk/">The Canteen</a>, a bar, restaurant and music venue which also trains disadvantaged people in the hospitality sector. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181023/original/file-20170804-24770-1lwxzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181023/original/file-20170804-24770-1lwxzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181023/original/file-20170804-24770-1lwxzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181023/original/file-20170804-24770-1lwxzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181023/original/file-20170804-24770-1lwxzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181023/original/file-20170804-24770-1lwxzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181023/original/file-20170804-24770-1lwxzyh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Canteen at Hamilton House.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/heatheronhertravels/32796106653/sizes/l">heatheronhertravels/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It also hosts the <a href="http://www.thebristolbikeproject.org/">Bristol Bike Project</a>, providing bikes and services to underprivileged groups; the <a href="https://misfitstheatre.com/">Misfits Theatre Company</a>, a theatre and social group led by people with learning disabilities; and <a href="https://www.hamiltonhouse.org/whos-here/">many other groups and projects</a> providing everything from co-working spaces to event management.</p>
<p>The success story started in 2008 when the owners of the building, Connolly & Callaghan (C&C), invited a group of local people to come up with a plan for the community to make use of a derelict building in the centre of the high street. At the time, Stokes Croft was notably downtrodden; a place replete with pawnshops and massage parlours. Many people avoided walking through it at night.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181024/original/file-20170804-24770-a5ard6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181024/original/file-20170804-24770-a5ard6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181024/original/file-20170804-24770-a5ard6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181024/original/file-20170804-24770-a5ard6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181024/original/file-20170804-24770-a5ard6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181024/original/file-20170804-24770-a5ard6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181024/original/file-20170804-24770-a5ard6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Less than salubrious.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gavinkwhite/10815768095/sizes/l">чãvìnkωhỉtз/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These people went on to form the community interest company Coexist. Their idea was simple: create the “operating system”, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/set-up-a-social-enterprise">a community interest company</a>, which rents out office spaces to artists, projects and various organisations under market rates. At the same time, necessary renovations and marketing were done by the free work of Coexist volunteers, keen to turn their neighbourhood into a more attractive place.</p>
<p>Since then, <a href="http://hamiltonhouse.org/">Hamilton House</a> has been central to the rejuvenation of Stokes Croft as a cultural and creative quarter, attracting many artists, creatives, charities and entrepreneurs to the building. Coexist has become a key actor in the quarter, alongside the <a href="http://www.prsc.org.uk/">People’s Republic of Stokes Croft</a> and other community groups. It even gained a moment of international fame when it introduced <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/mar/02/uk-company-introduce-period-policy-female-staff">a period policy for female staff</a>.</p>
<h2>A valuable asset</h2>
<p>Coexist reckons that Hamilton House brings in an annual revenue of around <a href="http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/business/deadline-looms-bids-hamilton-house-57782">£21m, and is responsible for around 1,260 jobs in the local area</a>. It also provides free spaces, events and exhibitions worth around £100,000 annually to the community.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181018/original/file-20170804-27483-wckyze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181018/original/file-20170804-27483-wckyze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181018/original/file-20170804-27483-wckyze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181018/original/file-20170804-27483-wckyze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=341&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181018/original/file-20170804-27483-wckyze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181018/original/file-20170804-27483-wckyze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181018/original/file-20170804-27483-wckyze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Coexist’s Community Kitchen at Hamilton House.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/biglunchextras/13242462134/sizes/l">Ruth Davey/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By raising the profile of Stokes Croft, Hamilton House has also contributed to rising real estate values in the surrounding area. And now, the owners of Hamilton House are seemingly tempted to cash in. In November 2016, C&C notified the council of their intent to dispose of the building, so that the community asset lock on the property would be removed. </p>
<p>While Coexist has, up until now, always said that C&C have been “sponsors, instigators and landlords” providing essential support for the Hamilton House project, C&C have also benefited greatly from the hard work of the local community. The <a href="https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/09985446/filing-history/MzE3OTI4NzA5OWFkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0">financial statements for C&C</a> reveal that when Hamilton House was valuated in September 2016, the value of the property had increased by a whopping £3.44m, from £2.1m in 2008 to £5.5m today. </p>
<p>Existing legislation gave Coexist the right to a first bid, but the community interest company has been unable to compete with market rates. Their <a href="https://www.hamiltonhouse.org/coexist-bid/">pretty impressive</a> £5.5m, face-value bid was <a href="https://thebristolcable.org/2017/07/update-news-future-hamilton-house/">rejected by C&C</a> in July 2017. Bids ranging from <a href="https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/future-hamilton-house-looks-increasingly-uncertain/">£5.2m to £7.5m</a> have reportedly been made by other parties. </p>
<h2>A clouded future</h2>
<p>Although conversations continue, fears about Hamilton House’s future run high. C&C have served Coexist with a notice to vacate the building by August 11. An offer of a six-month recurring lease (with some caveats regarding the middle and back part of the building, which C&C want to develop) is on the table, but it means that Coexist and most of the tenants now lack the security to plan ahead. </p>
<p>A spokesperson for C&C <a href="http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/business/deadline-looms-bids-hamilton-house-57782">said</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Connolly & Callaghan has supported and assisted Coexist for nearly a decade in its work in creating community. Coexist was brought into being in 2008 because Connolly & Callaghan wanted to create an experimental centre of excellence in sustainable community at Hamilton House, which we have owned since 2004 … Going forward, our intention is to maintain a flexible approach towards the future of Hamilton House. We hope to see Coexist continue its work in community building, and to also see Coexist build its own long-term social, environmental and financial stability.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181026/original/file-20170804-27459-k7l3j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/181026/original/file-20170804-27459-k7l3j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181026/original/file-20170804-27459-k7l3j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181026/original/file-20170804-27459-k7l3j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181026/original/file-20170804-27459-k7l3j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181026/original/file-20170804-27459-k7l3j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/181026/original/file-20170804-27459-k7l3j2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Paradise lost?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jontangerine/6162330224/sizes/l">jontangerine/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Coexist and their tenants have made Stokes Croft into a more attractive area with their cultural labour. Here, local values, practices and people have worked to achieve social goods for the whole community, as well as those who visit. Now, the people who lifted up their local communities could be deprived of the fruits of their labour. </p>
<p>Of course, this resilient community is already exploring possible solutions. Coexist and the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft are proposing to use Bristol’s <a href="https://medium.com/@CoexistCIC/building-a-new-economy-for-stokes-croft-8b57ab476f7f">community land trust</a>, to take over the building. This would allow the property to be owned communally, protecting this important infrastructure from market interventions.</p>
<p>But for these solutions to work, regulation must be put in place, to limit the power of real estate owners and to acknowledge those who regenerated the area. Gentrification is often understood as inevitable, but it can also be deeply unjust. It’s time for councils and governments of all colours to recognise the twisted logic of gentrification – which leaves strong and resilient communities at the mercy of private developers – and put an end to it. It’s only fair.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82010/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s time for governments to put a stop to the twisted logic of gentrification.Fabian Frenzel, Associate Professor in Organisation Studies, University of LeicesterArmin Beverungen, Junior Director at the Digital Cultures Research Lab, Leuphana UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/796502017-07-25T20:08:37Z2017-07-25T20:08:37ZNot jobs and growth but post-capitalism – and creative industries show the way<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175132/original/file-20170622-3053-1m2990k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The creative economy is failing to live up to the fast-growing, young entrepreneurial image it promotes. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arselectronica/14959708488/">Ars Electronica/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The term “creative industries” was <a href="https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/42872_Flew.pdf">first applied</a> to the cultural sector by UK New Labour in 1998, and rapidly gained global traction.</p>
<p>It was a kind of Faustian bargain for the cultural sector, which gave up its traditional suspicion of commercial imperatives in return for a seat at the grown-ups’ table where the governmental big bucks were allocated. </p>
<p>Perhaps it was not so Faustian after all. It seemed the “new” economy was all about ideas and experiences, creativity and left-of-field innovation. That’s less a sell-out and more a win-win. As cities shed their dirty industries, the creative sector would provide new, more fulfilling employment, rewriting the rules of the old economy as it did so.</p>
<p>The problems with this narrative are <a href="https://currencyhouse.org.au/node/174">well aired</a>. Software (which had been included precisely to bump up the numbers) and advertising and marketing accounted for most of the <a href="https://www.acola.org.au/PDF/SAF01/6.%20Culture%20creativity%20cultural%20economy.pdf">employment growth</a>. </p>
<p>Outside these sectors (and often within) <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13504630.2015.1128800?src=recsys&journalCode=csid20">studies</a> showed persistent low wages, high debt, self-exploitation, precarious employment (the “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/26/will-we-get-by-gig-economy">gig economy</a>”), multiple job-holding (“don’t give up your night job”) and a nepotism that comes with excessive reliance on networking. </p>
<p>The divergence between the shiny narrative and the mundane reality is now blindingly obvious (at least outside the consultancy reports). Few in the cultural sector do more than lip-sync to its hymns. </p>
<p>But is this simply a story of deflation, of promises reneged? Might there be another narrative?</p>
<h2>A new narrative emerges</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178549/original/file-20170718-21774-10k3q7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178549/original/file-20170718-21774-10k3q7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178549/original/file-20170718-21774-10k3q7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178549/original/file-20170718-21774-10k3q7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178549/original/file-20170718-21774-10k3q7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178549/original/file-20170718-21774-10k3q7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178549/original/file-20170718-21774-10k3q7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178549/original/file-20170718-21774-10k3q7j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1151&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">PostCapitalism: A Guide to our Future, by Paul Mason (Allen Lane, 2015)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PostCapitalism:_A_Guide_to_our_Future">Wikipedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In recent years the notion of “post-capitalism” has become more widespread. <a href="http://affirmpress.com.au/publishing/a-revolution-in-the-making/">Guy Rundle</a> has been talking about this in Australia, and <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Postcapitalism-Paul-Mason/9780141975290?redirected=true&utm_medium=Google&utm_campaign=Base1&utm_source=AU&utm_content=Postcapitalism&selectCurrency=AUD&w=AF45AU99ZZC1SZA80C5LAF4S&pdg=kwd-309568335522:cmp-680104063:adg-37898644947:crv-151944074570:pid-9780141975290:dev-c&gclid=CO3Vos2ky9QCFYuUvQodBOUJAg">Paul Mason</a> in the UK. </p>
<p>In part it continues the optimism about the transformative potential of new technologies that formed around the internet in the 1990s, and which gave the early “creative industries” agenda such a powerful charge. </p>
<p>But since 2008 many have felt that capitalism is no longer capable of delivering on that potential. It has been locking it up in monopoly platforms and extracting “rent” from what is essentially free.</p>
<p>Indeed, capitalism is intent on maximising short-term profit from these technologies while allowing the ecological catastrophe of climate change to let rip. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178550/original/file-20170718-21790-vg3gfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178550/original/file-20170718-21790-vg3gfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178550/original/file-20170718-21790-vg3gfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=933&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178550/original/file-20170718-21790-vg3gfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=933&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178550/original/file-20170718-21790-vg3gfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=933&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178550/original/file-20170718-21790-vg3gfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178550/original/file-20170718-21790-vg3gfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178550/original/file-20170718-21790-vg3gfc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Revolution In The Making: 3D Printing, Robots and the Future, by Guy Rundle (Affirm Press, 2014)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://affirmpress.com.au/publishing/a-revolution-in-the-making/">Affirm Press</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rundle and Mason evoke the enormous potential of technological innovation, not just in communications but in medicine, materials science, agriculture, transport and the rest, but this potential is stuck in the old relations of capitalism. </p>
<p>Post-capitalism evokes not just the technology but the new kinds of social relations required for it to live up to its full human potential. They argue that these new technologies – distributed, networked, ideas-rich, decreasingly expensive – are giving rise to enclaves within contemporary society that provide a glimpse into a more human future. </p>
<p>Peer-to-peer networks, sharing and gift economies (for real, not Uber), open-source movements, non-monetary labour exchanges – all of these grow out of the essentially public and democratic nature of knowledge-based production and distribution. Capitalism squats on these new democratic forces, wringing profit from a knowledge it does not produce but seeks to own. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178551/original/file-20170718-21752-1e7hfus.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178551/original/file-20170718-21752-1e7hfus.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178551/original/file-20170718-21752-1e7hfus.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178551/original/file-20170718-21752-1e7hfus.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178551/original/file-20170718-21752-1e7hfus.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178551/original/file-20170718-21752-1e7hfus.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178551/original/file-20170718-21752-1e7hfus.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178551/original/file-20170718-21752-1e7hfus.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1154&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Postcapitalist Politics, by J.K. Gibson-Graham (University of Minnesota Press, 2006)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/a-postcapitalist-politics">University of Minnesota Press</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Rundle is the more naive politically, while Mason, re-inventing a Marxist political economy long thought dead and buried, recognises that systems are not given up without a fight. </p>
<p>What stands out, however, is a sense that things are already changing. We need not wait for the big collapse, but can work in the here and now to effect real social transformation. </p>
<p>This connects with <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/a-postcapitalist-politics">the work</a> of <a href="http://www.communityeconomies.org/people/jk-gibson-graham">J.K. Gibson-Graham</a> and others, who see older forms of social activism as working towards a different kind of post-capitalist future right here, right now.</p>
<h2>Creating a more human future</h2>
<p>There are, and will be, many objections to the coherence of the term post-capitalism and the agenda it announces. But perhaps it can help us rethink the creative industries. </p>
<p>Rather than the narrative of the fast-growing, entrepreneurial, start-up economy moving us into the next stage of knowledge capitalism, post-capitalism gives us a different story. </p>
<p>The low-waged, under-employed, precarious creative sector embarrasses the policymakers by not being really serious about growth (“lifestyle”) and failing to live up to the entrepreneurial image promoted at all those glitzy creative industry events. But these low-growth, socially embedded and ethically driven creatives may represent a future far more convincingly than those MBAs in hip clothing setting out to be the next “unicorn”.</p>
<p>The job of the creative sector is not to produce “jobs and growth” but cultural value. Those long hours on low wages and short-term contracts are accepted (mostly) as the price to create something of cultural value, to alter the world a little bit, to make us see it in a different way, to critique and to celebrate ourselves, and to bind us together. </p>
<p>This ecosystem of micro-businesses, freelancers and serial project workers represents the vast majority of <a href="https://ccskills.org.uk/supporters/blog/freelancing-and-the-future-of-creative-jobs">cultural sector employment</a>. They have been systemically sidelined from the grand creative industries narrative, but are, in fact, its main business.</p>
<p>Arguments for culture dressed up as economics no longer convince anyone. <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-brandis-plans-to-insulate-the-arts-sector-from-the-artists-42305">George Brandis</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/reagan-called-america-a-city-on-a-hill-because-taxpayers-funded-the-humanities-74721">Donald Trump</a> and 100 right-wing authoritarian cultural budget cuts across the globe testify to this. </p>
<p>It is time to give up on the fiction of the creative industries delivering post-industrial capitalism. Instead, we should acknowledge the new ways of making and sharing, the commitments to community and place, the social labour involved in creative work as a powerful resource for wider transformation of our common culture.</p>
<p>And, at the moment, the future of that common culture points us toward some kind of post-capitalism – rather than simply more of the same.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79650/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justin O'Connor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The notion of the creative sector driving fulfilling work as cities shed old industries has worn thin. But those creatives might be delivering value of a different kind, offering a more human future.Justin O'Connor, Professor of Communications and Cultural Economy, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/809542017-07-23T20:09:09Z2017-07-23T20:09:09ZHow can our cities match Europe’s for finding value in their creative vibe?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178940/original/file-20170720-23992-1l9vijb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Edinburgh is one of the European cities that make the most of their creative and cultural assets.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/topaz-mcnumpty/9425861004/in/photolist-fmW15U-fti4HW-2A8KwB-2A8BPF-fv8XzL-71UmQR-ftpCEa-oFPdEt-cNL8s3-fnyJkZ-fvxiQ7-acU4NJ-fQ4mEw-VeZbgB-nfGB2-fqLD6s-fqobox-fvLeCS-fmU94i-oU4ytV-5bXXpQ-5e2qPA-fzWWhp-fqmwUB-fu6Sns-fvyeUw-cMDtMW-xfPNM-ay7HPA-5f66XN-fncGas-9fBRmh-fmZvwT-2yehya-fmZxAD-fu5Jh1-5f1J9p-5fF58g-2ZEXt8-nfGB4-cNFgXL-cNA8rs-Vo1u9A-WqFPZt-fqLEsF-d5fyCs-5f1JnP-ay4ZTx-fmZrEM-fmZwCH">Hamish Irvine/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>European cultural and creative cities have stronger economic output and more jobs than their Australian counterparts. So why is our urban creative vibrancy associated with city size, not economic performance?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Culture nurtures our souls and binds our communities together, while creativity helps reveal new answers to our challenges and anxieties. Industries that build on creativity and culture are also a source of great economic value and social well-being.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So opens the latest European Union report, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/eur-scientific-and-technical-research-reports/cultural-and-creative-cities-monitor-2017-edition">The Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor 2017 Edition</a>. The report and supporting data represent an effort to measure something we all know is important – the creative vibe of cities. </p>
<p>Creativity is making its way more and more into policy discussions. Note the European <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/culture/policies/strategic-framework/strategy-international-cultural-relations_en">policy</a> announced last year, Towards an EU Strategy for International Cultural Resolutions, and the European Parliament’s <a href="http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&reference=P8-TA-2016-0486&language=EN">resolution</a> to deliver “coherent EU policy for cultural and creative industries”. </p>
<p>Australia <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/89368/">lacks a current national cultural and creative industries policy</a>. There are clear parallels, though, with the national <a href="https://industry.gov.au/innovation/GlobalInnovationStrategy/index.html">Global Innovation Strategy</a>. Other innovation and creative programs are happening at state level, such as <a href="https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/growing-business/becoming-innovative/innovation-grants-support/innovate-queensland">Innovate Queensland</a>.</p>
<p>The European work shows that having cultural and creative cities can deliver significant economic benefits. The positive associations between cultural and creative cities and annual GDP per capita and jobs per capita are clear and strong.</p>
<p>Overall, they also found city size isn’t everything: smaller cities perform just as well as big cities. </p>
<h2>How do the biggest 36 Australian cities compare?</h2>
<p>We don’t have the data to construct the same metrics as the EU. However, based on the <a href="http://www.regionalaustralia.org.au/Great_small_cities_data_tool">publicly available data</a> from the Regional Australia Institute, we use the <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/06/bohemian-index/57658/">Bohemian Index</a> as a proxy indicator for creative economy. </p>
<p>This index, <a href="http://www.creativeclass.com/rfcgdb/articles/6%20Bohemia_and_Economic_Geography.pdf">devised</a> by <a href="https://www.creativeclass.com/rfcgdb/articles/The%20Australian.pdf">Richard Florida</a>, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/06/bohemian-index/57658/">measures</a> “the concentration of working artists, musicians, writers, designers, and entertainers across metropolitan areas”.</p>
<p>Australian findings show no association between creatives and city output, measured as gross value added (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_value_added">GVA</a>) per capita. There is only a slight positive relationship between jobs and creativity, as shown below. In contrast, the European <a href="http://www.politico.eu/blogs/playbook-plus/2017/07/eu-identifies-the-ultimate-european-city/screen-shot-2017-07-06-at-13-39-30/">Creative and Cultural Cities Index</a> is highly and positively correlated to both GDP and jobs per capita.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178376/original/file-20170717-14267-w1hvkb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178376/original/file-20170717-14267-w1hvkb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178376/original/file-20170717-14267-w1hvkb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178376/original/file-20170717-14267-w1hvkb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178376/original/file-20170717-14267-w1hvkb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178376/original/file-20170717-14267-w1hvkb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178376/original/file-20170717-14267-w1hvkb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 1. Bohemian Index of Australia’s 36 largest cities and output (GVA) per capita and jobs per capita.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As we can see, there is a positive relationship between Australian city size and creative employment. This is the opposite of what the Europeans found. </p>
<p>So what do Australia cities share with European cities in the way of creative economy and economic performance? Basically, there is a positive and strong correlation between a city’s Bohemian Index and new business start-up rate, trademark rate (see Figure 2) and rate of business owners.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178377/original/file-20170717-30889-1v3042m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178377/original/file-20170717-30889-1v3042m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178377/original/file-20170717-30889-1v3042m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178377/original/file-20170717-30889-1v3042m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178377/original/file-20170717-30889-1v3042m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178377/original/file-20170717-30889-1v3042m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178377/original/file-20170717-30889-1v3042m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Figure 2. Bohemian Index of Australia’s 36 largest cities and trademark applications.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Creativity also has significant positive associations with higher rates of bachelor degree qualifications or higher, housing affordability and commute time. </p>
<p>Disturbingly for Australia, creativity is positively associated with income inequality (measured as 80:20 ratio) as well. Does this mean that our cities with more creative jobs also have more rich patrons and poor arts students?</p>
<p>Importantly, not all cities perform the same. Our 31 regional cities show a significant and negative relationship between unemployment rates and Bohemian Index. Maybe the metro “Big 5” can learn from our regional city strengths in delivering stronger creativity and lower unemployment. </p>
<h2>What can Australia learn from Europe?</h2>
<p>Creative and cultural cities are obviously valued as important for global society, but European research clearly shows that these cities are also capable of delivering jobs and strong economic output. </p>
<p>Do we want all Australian cities to resemble Gladstone, with its high jobs and output, or Hobart, with its strong creative occupations? The Europeans have shown us we can have both in the one city – and not just in the big cities.</p>
<p>Importantly, if Australia follows a policy-transfer approach to creative and cultural cities, we should be cautious. These policies are also promoting economic performance in Europe, but what will they do here when we don’t see the same relationships?</p>
<p>While the latest EU work shows you can measure the cultural and creative aspects of a city, it does stipulate that this is not a be-all-and-end-all metric. It’s more the start of the discussion: how can we better measure our cities’ creativity and cultural values?</p>
<p>Europe uses three metrics (combining quantitative and qualitative data) to gauge a city’s cultural vibrancy, creative economy and enabling culture environment. The work is long and involved. Cities are required to provide information on 29 indicators – number of seats in a theatre, for instance. </p>
<p>We have just used one metric here, perhaps highlighting that poor data hinders good decision-making. A better measure of creative and cultural Australian cities could have provided different associations. </p>
<p>Australia is the “lucky country”, so why can’t we have it all – jobs and creativity in all our cities?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80954/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leonie Pearson works for the Regional Australia Institute (RAI). The RAI is a not-for-profit think tank and receives funding from government and non-government organisations. </span></em></p>A comparison of 36 Australian cities finds that, unlike Europe, the data on their creativity and culture are not closely linked to their capacity to generate economic value and social well-being.Leonie Pearson, Adjunct Associate, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/789872017-06-13T20:20:44Z2017-06-13T20:20:44ZIn defence of serendipity: the Silicon Emperor is wearing no clothes<p>Serendipity is the process of finding something useful, valuable or just generally “good” without actually looking for it. Throughout the history of invention and discovery serendipity has functioned as a sort of Freudian unconscious, leading – or, perhaps better, tricking – the curious human mind onto unexpected novelty. </p>
<p>And yet, only recently have we started to become truly aware of the crucial role of serendipity in our attempts to creatively grasp toward the future. </p>
<p>Over the last few years, it has become an important – if not overused – reference for the creative industries and for our innovation-obsessed economy in general. This is remarkable as “serendipity” was conceived in mid-18th-century literary circles. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Horace-Walpole-4th-earl-of-Orford">Horace Walpole</a> <a href="https://interestingliterature.com/2015/01/28/a-short-history-of-the-word-serendipity/">coined the term</a> in 1754. </p>
<p>Walpole had come across the “silly fairy tale” <em>Peregrinaggio di tre giovani figliuoli del re di Serendippo</em>, an Italian translation of the Persian parable of the three princes of Serendip. During their travels, Walpole <a href="https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2016/01/28/the-invention-of-serendipity/">wrote</a>, they “were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of”.</p>
<p>Walpole’s definition of serendipity spread through the world of literates and bibliophiles. Scientists were always able to relate to the term. Louis Pasteur’s <a href="http://www.bartleby.com/73/174.html">adage</a> about chance favouring only prepared minds reflects serendipity’s significance for scientific discoveries and inventions.</p>
<h2>Accident and sagacity</h2>
<p>Today, serendipity is emerging as an important reference for those whose job it is to make our economies more innovative, our industries and cities more creative, and our future, well, better.</p>
<p>Yet unsurprisingly, in this world of <a href="https://www.ted.com/">TED</a>, <a href="http://www.pechakucha.org/">PechaKucha</a> and awesome one-liners, serendipity is fast becoming a fad. </p>
<p>This is unfortunate as the notion offers more than meets the Google-glassed eye. Walpole defined the term as a convergence of accident and sagacity. </p>
<p>And this allows us to understand serendipity as a response to an age-old conundrum that the philosopher Plato baptised <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epistemic-paradoxes/#MenParInqPuzAboGaiKno">Meno’s paradox</a>: the search for new knowledge is a sheer impossibility as one either knows what to look for, in which case the object of the search is not new, or one doesn’t know what to look for, which makes the search impossible. </p>
<p>Serendipity offers a possible solution by suggesting that the new always enters the world through the back door of the accident. For true novelty to emerge, anomalies, detours or confusions are required to occur. </p>
<p>However, it is equally important to notice these accidents and recognise their potential. This is where sagacity comes in. It represents the ability to turn the virtuality of the accident into the actuality of something new entering the world.</p>
<h2>The capitalist dilemma</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, our infrastructures of innovation are neither susceptible to accidents of the disruptively generative kind nor particularly hospitable to the kind of sagacity that would recognise disruptive potential – in the non-Californian sense of the term. </p>
<p>This may sound counterintuitive, given the omnipresent chatter about disruption and digital innovation, but look around: where are the mind-blowing innovations promised by the prophets of Silicon Valley and their local subsidiaries? </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173523/original/file-20170613-10193-1v0lgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173523/original/file-20170613-10193-1v0lgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/173523/original/file-20170613-10193-1v0lgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=726&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173523/original/file-20170613-10193-1v0lgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=726&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173523/original/file-20170613-10193-1v0lgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=726&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173523/original/file-20170613-10193-1v0lgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173523/original/file-20170613-10193-1v0lgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/173523/original/file-20170613-10193-1v0lgx6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the great contemporary icons of product innovation is basically a digitally pimped wristwatch.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Blake Patterson/flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The new iPhone? Thank you for getting <a href="https://theconversation.com/iphone-updates-charm-and-annoy-in-equal-measure-but-apple-leaves-mac-users-in-the-shade-65086">rid of the headphone jack</a>. Flying cars? Nowhere to be seen. And what happened to supersonic air travel – ’50s technology that seems too advanced for the digital age? </p>
<p>If we look more closely at what passes as the great contemporary icons of product innovation, we might realise that these are a <a href="https://theconversation.com/apple-watch-why-are-so-many-prepared-to-pay-so-much-without-even-knowing-why-40059">digitally pimped wristwatch</a> and a car that takes away the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-winners-and-losers-in-the-race-for-driverless-cars-63874">experience of driving</a> (remember: this is the <a href="https://hbr.org/1998/07/welcome-to-the-experience-economy">experience economy</a>).</p>
<p>Harvard Business School professor <a href="http://www.claytonchristensen.com/biography/">Clayton Christensen</a> refers to this lack of real innovation as “<a href="https://hbr.org/2014/06/the-capitalists-dilemma">the capitalist’s dilemma</a>”: the economy is losing creative momentum thanks to its entrenchment in the matrices of finance. The risk-averse logic of finance, he argues, prevents companies from investing in exciting new ideas that could lead to new products and services. </p>
<p>Christensen’s argument links the innovative impotence of the economy to businesses’ increasing inability to serve society. Thanks to its thorough financialisation, the economic game has become radically hermetic. </p>
<p>The result is not just soaring social inequality, as <a href="https://theconversation.com/piketty-challenges-us-to-consider-if-we-need-to-rein-in-wealth-inequality-67552">bemoaned by Thomas Piketty</a>. It also cuts off economic rationality from the diversity of non-economic inputs needed to move the economy forward.</p>
<h2>The naked silicon emperor</h2>
<p>It would be wrong to believe that Silicon Valley is an exception to such economically dysfunctional navel-gazing. When its venture capitalists are not busy funding the latest app for dog shit collection, they tend to focus on the so-called <a href="https://theconversation.com/renting-isnt-lending-the-sharing-economy-fallacy-27084">sharing economy</a>. They are looking to invest in the “next Uber for X”. </p>
<p>The question is: how innovative are these platform business models in fact? They are certainly disruptive, but not exactly in the way that brilliantly innovative products or services are. </p>
<p>Look at the platform poster boys: Airbnb is disrupting the sustainability of urban living by <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-governments-are-treading-lightly-around-airbnb-76389">driving up rents and real estate prices</a>, while Uber and its offshoots happily introduce <a href="https://theconversation.com/driverless-uber-cars-are-coming-to-disrupt-the-sharing-economy-but-capitalism-carries-on-as-usual-64245">feudalist work conditions</a> for their hyper-exploited pseudo-entrepreneurs. </p>
<p>And these companies can do these things because they can rely on massive funding that effectively takes them out of any market competition. </p>
<p>The goal of these financially overfed business-bullies is to create super-monopolies that capture entire markets to lock vendors and customers into their platforms – pseudo-markets that function according to their supreme (often algorithmic) rule. </p>
<p>These business models not only have disastrous effects on their societal “environment” but are also – because they absorb entire markets into the hermetic space of self-referential platforms – great inhibitors of serendipity and, indeed, innovation.</p>
<p>If this tendency towards platform capitalism goes unchecked, we will soon face a situation similar to that at the end of the Eastern Bloc. While the global party press (TED, <a href="https://www.wired.com/">Wired</a>, <a href="https://www.oreilly.com/">O’Reilly Media</a>) runs hot churning out the credo of the innovation economy, the hiatus between the image of the world according to the digital innovation gospel and the real economic (and social) stasis grows to comical proportions.</p>
<p>It is high time we called out the Silicon Emperor for being naked and did so in the name of innovation – that is, in defence of serendipity.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The author is the keynote speaker at the June 15 <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/symposium-smart-city-creative-city-tickets-34763468470?utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=order_confirmation_email&utm_term=eventname&ref=eemailordconf">Smart City-Creative City symposium</a> hosted by Monash University’s <a href="http://mfjcme.wixsite.com/culturemediaeconomy">Culture Media Economy</a> (CME) research unit in Melbourne.</em> </p>
<p><em>The Australian launch of the author’s book, In Defence of Serendipity: For a Radical Politics of Innovation (Repeater Books, London 2016), will be hosted on Wednesday, June 14, at 4pm by CME. Register for the free public lecture and launch <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/in-defence-of-serendipity-book-launch-public-lecture-by-seb-olma-tickets-34788928622">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78987/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sebastian Olma does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The digital pin-ups’ business models actually inhibit serendipity and, indeed, innovation by absorbing entire markets into the sealed-off space of their platforms.Sebastian Olma, Professor of Autonomy in Art, Design and Technology, St Joost Art Academy, Avans University of Applied SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/782582017-06-11T20:30:41Z2017-06-11T20:30:41ZCreative city, smart city … whose city is it?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172600/original/file-20170607-3668-1wymt6h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">When the smart city looks inhuman: a robot police officer from Dubai greets guests at last November's Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ramon Costa/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2007 US creative cities “guru” <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Creative-Class-Transforming-Community/dp/1491576766">Richard Florida</a> was flown up to Noosa to tell the local city council how they, too, could become a creative city. </p>
<p>Noosa was one of a long line of cities across the globe queuing up to pay big bucks to the US-based academic-entrepreneur. “Being creative” had become an almost universal aspiration. Who would not want to be a creative city? </p>
<p>And so Creative [insert name of city here] signs sprang up in the most unlikely places, along with stock shots of creative young things hunched over laptops in cafes.</p>
<p>Ten years later, different gurus are being flown around and the signs have been replaced by Smart [insert name of city here]. The stock shots are much the same, but now the young things are being innovative, disruptive and above all “smart”. That’s the trouble with fast policy: here today, gone tomorrow.</p>
<p>Below the surface more tectonic shifts can be felt. In its first outing in the mid-1990s the “creative city”, associated with thinkers such as <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Creative-City-Toolkit-Urban-Innovators/dp/1844075982/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496259774&sr=1-1&keywords=charles+landry+the+creative+city">Charles Landry</a>, was an energising vision of a new role for cultural creativity in our cities.</p>
<p>Now expanded in democratic fashion beyond the world of “high art” to embrace popular, everyday creativity, culture would be a key resource for the 21st-century city. </p>
<p>Culture could re-activate the decayed industrial zones of the inner city, breathing new life into the dead infrastructures of factories and power stations, dockyards and tram depots, schools, barracks and banks. Culture could renew stale urban identities, catalyse new aspirations and stamp a different global brand on long-dormant cities. </p>
<p>And with the creative industries – culture plus all things design and digital – all that was needed were some creative people and a bit of entrepreneurial flair. Then we would have one of the industries of the future. </p>
<p>Creativity broke cities away from the old bureaucratic top-down planning silos of the industrial city and let them approach the future holistically. Culture would be what cities do best, earning a living and enjoying it at the same time. </p>
<p>By the time Florida had left Noosa the discontent was growing. Big investments in photogenic CBD developments seemed more intended for the creative class than local citizens, generating massive real estate profits while the suburbs languished unloved. </p>
<p>Creative industries turned out not to be so inclusive after all. They failed to soak up all those unemployed dirty industry workers and were reliant on educated workers willing to work their way up on low pay and high debt.</p>
<h2>The turn of the smart city</h2>
<p>Since the global financial crisis the energising vision has been around social justice, citizenship and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-habitat-iii-defend-the-human-right-to-the-city-57576">right to the city</a>, with a return of community and activist-focused arts activities. Creatives are now less Californian start-ups and more counter-cultural “post-capitalists”.</p>
<p>Enter the <a href="https://theconversation.com/while-governments-talk-about-smart-cities-its-citizens-who-create-them-59230">Smart City</a>, creativity without all those messy cultural bits. The tech start-ups were just as cool, the fab labs and hacker spaces just as disruptive, but now slotted onto a very different agenda.</p>
<p>This too promised a re-invention of the city, not now a cultural re-imagining but a complete re-tooling of the social and governmental infrastructure of the city. Courtesy of some very big global tech companies, a new digital infrastructure could be rolled out, applying sensors, data-capture devices and large-scale computing power to urban life.</p>
<p>Smart cities are data cities, promising efficient management of transport and utilities, security, and customised commerce. If the early Creative City embraced the messiness of city life, viewing it not as chaos but creative fecundity, the Smart City give us a clean utopian picture of the perfectly transparent city. </p>
<p>It’s messy on the surface, but with a big data back-room providing bespoke information for almost any aspect of urban living your care to ask for. What’s not to like?</p>
<h2>A corporate taming of creativity</h2>
<p>That the brains of the Smart City – as envisioned by its corporate promoters – are increasingly embedded in its walls rather than its inhabitants reveals much about the trajectory of the digital economy so closely tied to Florida’s conception of the Creative City and its industries. </p>
<p>Internet scholar <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Future-Internet-How-Stop/dp/0300151241/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496259831&sr=1-1&keywords=jonathan+zittrain">Jonathan Zittrain</a> has described the rise of “app” culture as a betrayal of the creative potential unleashed by the mainstreaming of the internet. If the open internet was messy and chaotic, Zittrain argues that it was correspondingly “generative”, promoting experimentation and creativity. </p>
<p>By contrast, the “app” represents the pacification and domestication of the internet: its transformation from a productive medium to an infrastructure for consumption and marketing. Apps sort our music and photos for us, tell us where to eat, how to get there, and what to watch afterwards. The price of the newfound convenience that renders smart phones so addictive is a shift in the balance of control away from the end user. </p>
<p>For Zittrain, the “applified” world is “one of sterile appliances tethered to a network of control” – which is not a bad description of the corporate blueprint for the Smart City. </p>
<p>As urbanist <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Against-smart-city-here-Book-ebook/dp/B00FHQ5DBS/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496259876&sr=1-3&keywords=adam+greenfield">Adam Greenfield</a> has observed, the corporate world has taken the lead in both envisioning and promoting its version of the “informated” city. It looks suspiciously like the commercial internet projected out into physical space. </p>
<p>The promise is one of efficiency, convenience and security: smart streets that adjust traffic flow in real time, walls that change images to suit our tastes (which have become indistinguishable from market preferences), even floors that cushion us when we fall. </p>
<p>For all the talk of disruption, the paradoxical promise of the smart city is one of data-driven efficiency and predictability. The promotional materials feature the same smart young things, freed up from the impositions of daily life (traffic, shopping, routine decision-making, even driving), to do … what? </p>
<h2>Whose city is it?</h2>
<p>There are surely possibilities here, but the version of smart city as automated city looks inhuman. It promises to serve people by rendering them increasingly efficient, perhaps to the point of their own redundancy. </p>
<p>To subject the future of the city to the corporate imaginary is to concede too much to the galloping privatisation of our cultural and informational infrastructure. </p>
<p>What if the right to the city were also a right to participate in shaping its information infrastructures and their implementation? Can we envision an alternative to centralised corporate control of the city’s data? And how might public priorities be redefined in ways that distinguish them from the private imperatives of the ruling tech giants? </p>
<p>These are the guiding questions for our <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/symposium-smart-city-creative-city-tickets-34763468470?utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=order_confirmation_email&utm_term=eventname&ref=eemailordconf">June 15 symposium</a> in Melbourne, which explores the possibility of another kind of urban culture beyond the tightly controlled formats of the Smart City/Creative City.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78258/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The corporate world has taken the lead in promoting various creative/smart city visions, which struggle to be inclusive, let alone entrust citizens with control over their lives.Justin O'Connor, Professor of Communications and Cultural Economy, Monash UniversityMark Andrejevic, Guest Lecturer, Monash University; Professor and Chair, Department of Media Studies, Pomona CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/633222016-08-19T05:26:26Z2016-08-19T05:26:26ZGaming trends show cities need to rethink how they tap into creative economy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132914/original/image-20160803-12223-utcsad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">City policymakers are realising creative workers don't have to be permanently clustered together if they can collaborate as needed.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/stevepurkiss/13945518656/in/photolist-nfjqQQ-dCou8f-ikXbBA-nhCZGi-nhD2RP-nhXFij-nhD5nR-nfSZV3-nhCVvJ-bEzzdt-7xhdHS-7xh13w-65nBfW-FTB7p-65nAUy-4eKahS-qhbHgF-7xdcmz-wFgFRC-7xh1Vd-7xh4jw-ni2QMc-7xh3Nf-hyeB1S-7xh2o1-qf4miE-7xh1wS-368ay3-7xh2YL-9Asmnw-7xdhzM-7MiPFH-7xdgS6-FHsb6q-pknymh-5R6r65-33P8X4-pZWM2M-qT8CUX-quLXkR-qf5yUu-nhV8JH-9TxV9r-nTzH6o-pZMGJE-4SYgYW-4SU4hi-4SYhoJ-qf4hG1-iczfyN">Steve Purkiss/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Various cities in Australia have developed creative economy policies with the aim of diversifying their economy. These policies are about attracting and retaining entrepreneurs and firms from the creative industries sector, such as the music and fashion industries. </p>
<p>Creative economy policies were often based on the <a href="https://hbr.org/1998/11/clusters-and-the-new-economics-of-competition">cluster concept</a> developed by Michael Porter in the 1990s. This was the case for the <a href="https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/sites/default/files/creative_brisbane_creative_economy_2013-2022.pdf">creative city strategy in Brisbane</a> and also for the more recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-the-secrets-to-being-a-superstar-music-city-50184">music industry policy in Melbourne</a>. </p>
<p>Brisbane has been very active in this area. The objective was to be less dependent on natural resources in the future. </p>
<p>Planning initiatives such the <a href="http://www.kgurbanvillage.com.au/">Kelvin Grove Village</a> are examples of economic development strategies based on the cluster concept that translated into planned projects. But positive steps are being taken to provide <a href="http://www.creativespaces.net.au/about-us/our-network/brisbane-city-council">affordable spaces for creative workers</a>.</p>
<p>Recent <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02723638.2015.1067981#.V5_-lOt97q4%20_">research on the video game industry in Australia</a> has shown that new technologies have greatly influenced the production of games. The industry functions as a “networked community” and not strictly as spatially bounded clusters. The use of new platforms such as the internet enables small companies to produce games from remote areas. </p>
<h2>Industry structures are changing</h2>
<p>The composition of the industry has changed significantly since 2006-07, with the closure of several development studios that focused on console games, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krome_Studios">Krome Studios</a>. A variety of platforms – <a href="https://unity3d.com/unity?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=&utm_campaign=demos-showcase-2016-06-21-Global-AdamFulll">Unity 3d</a>, mobile phones etc – is now available to game developers. </p>
<p>With the shift from console games to mobile phone games, the industry has changed dramatically. The nature of the demand has changed too: consumers of video games are now <a href="http://www.lib.umich.edu/blogs/eaten-grue/rise-mobile-games-factors-contributing-their-success">looking for a quick and fast experience</a>. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.disparitygames.com/about/">Disparity Games</a>, operating from Noosa on the Sunshine Coast, is an example of these new successful companies located outside the main cluster. The people behind Disparity Games are two video game developers working from home in an idyllic environment. The map below shows the location of video game firms in Queensland, with some of those companies operating from the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132689/original/image-20160802-17183-1hrz1wl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132689/original/image-20160802-17183-1hrz1wl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132689/original/image-20160802-17183-1hrz1wl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=874&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132689/original/image-20160802-17183-1hrz1wl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=874&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132689/original/image-20160802-17183-1hrz1wl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=874&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132689/original/image-20160802-17183-1hrz1wl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1098&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132689/original/image-20160802-17183-1hrz1wl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1098&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132689/original/image-20160802-17183-1hrz1wl.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1098&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Digital connectivity has led to a wider dispersion of video game companies in southeast Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In an interview with the author, one of the game developers explained why they decided to move their company to Noosa: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>After the collapse of large studios we decided to go indie. With the smaller indie companies, everyone is more supportive. We have meet-ups on marketing, technical issues, game testing. We are exchanging knowledge at those events, [so] we don’t need to be based in the city anymore to be part of the community.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>New technologies enable new ways of working</h2>
<p>These studios have demonstrated that self-publishing is a viable business model in Australia. Independent developers can now bypass traditional international publishers. </p>
<p>New technologies have thus had the effect of <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02723638.2015.1067981">reducing the size of video game companies and increasing their number</a>. This is verified in Queensland, which has become specialised in developing mobile phone games.</p>
<p>New technologies such as the National Broadband Network (NBN) have changed the way video game developers produce games and where they produce them. With the NBN, a small video game company can literally produce a game from anywhere.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132911/original/image-20160803-12201-1blciey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132911/original/image-20160803-12201-1blciey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132911/original/image-20160803-12201-1blciey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132911/original/image-20160803-12201-1blciey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132911/original/image-20160803-12201-1blciey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132911/original/image-20160803-12201-1blciey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132911/original/image-20160803-12201-1blciey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132911/original/image-20160803-12201-1blciey.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=755&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Co-working spaces allow creative workers to get together only when they need to.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/janelleorsi/12897062203/in/photolist-kDEPgr-9Apr26-a2KK9g-9ApqXv-ikWRxA-ikYcbZ-njFCnP-92jnme-nhXdYL-nhCzUE-nfjqQQ-dCou8f-ikXbBA-nhCZGi-nhD2RP-nhXFij-nhD5nR-nfSZV3-nhCVvJ-bEzzdt-7xhdHS-7xh13w-65nBfW-FTB7p-65nAUy-4eKahS-qhbHgF-7xdcmz-wFgFRC-7xh1Vd-7xh4jw-ni2QMc-7xh3Nf-hyeB1S-7xh2o1-qf4miE-7xh1wS-368ay3-7xh2YL-9Asmnw-7xdhzM-7MiPFH-7xdgS6-FHsb6q-pknymh-5R6r65-33P8X4-pZWM2M-qT8CUX-quLXkR">janelleorsi/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If they already have the professional connections, developers can work on the same game with different experts located in different cities. Face-to-face interactions are important, but this does not mean anymore that video game developers need to be located in the city at all times. </p>
<p>In that sense, creative economy policies should think about flexible ways to accommodate creative workers in the city. The opening of co-working spaces in <a href="https://www.littletokyotwo.com/">South Bank</a> or the <a href="http://www.rivercitylabs.net/">River City labs</a> are good examples in Brisbane.</p>
<p>This research shows it is time to go beyond the cluster type of economic development policies to attract and retain creative workers and firms in cities like Brisbane. </p>
<p>Instead of planning creative neighbourhoods or districts, which are often not affordable for start-up companies, policies should aim for flexible solutions such as co-working spaces. Those are more adapted to an era in which new technologies are to a certain extent changing the geography of creative industries based on technological innovation such as the video game industry.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63322/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sebastien Darchen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cities seeking to attract creative industries have relied heavily on the cluster concept. New research suggests a technology-driven transformation of how the sector works calls for a new approach.Sebastien Darchen, Lecturer in Planning, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/460302015-11-09T05:06:18Z2015-11-09T05:06:18ZFrom dissident to decorative: why street art sold out and gentrified our cities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101072/original/image-20151106-16235-1gdzfif.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/garryknight/6925465451/sizes/l">garryknight/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Street art – as well as its artistic forebear graffiti – are often thought of as radical, rebellious aesthetic practices. Both the artists and their works are portrayed as the very definition of “edgy”; dangerous and dissident, but also creative and avant-garde. Yet within the last five years or so, street art (and I use this term here in distinction to graffiti) has been commandeered by the corporate interests of the “creative city”.</p>
<p>The creative city doctrine is one in which public space is privatised and monetised – used as a simple means to an end. As imagined by superstar urban theorists such as <a href="http://www.creativeclass.com/richard_florida">Richard Florida</a>, it is the role of city authorities to draw the emerging creative class to their sites. They must mark themselves out visually and recreationally, to entice the key demographic of well-educated professionals and “bohemians” (the coders, the designers, the “knowledge-based” professionals) who form the basis for a post-industrial economy. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101067/original/image-20151106-16255-u7y7to.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101067/original/image-20151106-16255-u7y7to.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101067/original/image-20151106-16255-u7y7to.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101067/original/image-20151106-16255-u7y7to.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101067/original/image-20151106-16255-u7y7to.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101067/original/image-20151106-16255-u7y7to.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101067/original/image-20151106-16255-u7y7to.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">So edge. Much create.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bigiof/11757107623/sizes/l">fred.bigio/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From this perspective, the arts exist merely as a cog in the regenerative wheel, aimed at attracting and retaining these individuals so as to build wealth and develop cities. The movements and developments of contemporary art practice are here subordinated to the desires and objectives of urban planning policy: the development of the private sector takes priority over the development of the aesthetic or the social. </p>
<p>Rather than simply seeping into the mainstream art market (as the case with nearly all once-radical art), street art has been re-purposed to reel the creative class into particular urban spaces. Street art and street artists are today employed (quite literally) to accelerate the process of gentrification and mainline a sense of “authenticity” into a site.</p>
<h2>Edgy enough</h2>
<p>This transformation is due, in part, to the steady rise of the street art festival. From Miami to Manilla, these festivals have given institutions a way to establish the ultimate delivery system for creative city policies. They make and market “place”, turning physical space into a branded commodity. The “edgy authenticity” of street art makes it the ideal fit for this task: it is just perfectly, marvellously edgy enough.</p>
<p>Much of the street art pumped out through the festival apparatus provides an aesthetic of transgression, while remaining perfectly numb to the social realities of its setting, treating public space like a blank canvas, rather than a site already loaded with cultural, historical and personal significance. </p>
<p>It appears political while in fact being perfectly non-partisan. It performs a charade of rebellion and insurgence, while being officially sanctioned by commission and invitation. It constructs the perfect “cool” conditions for the “bohemian” hubs that the creative city requires. Yet it has severed itself from its radical roots, not simply by selling itself, but (even worse) by selling a false notion of place.</p>
<h2>The new colonialism</h2>
<p>Of course, I can gather that this may all sound a tad hyperbolic. After all, how offended can you really be by some intentionally inoffensive street art? Yet I argue that these festivals are not just a distribution point for innocuous, bland art: in fact, they are actively creating inequality within modern cities.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101135/original/image-20151107-16249-1dmqlhz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101135/original/image-20151107-16249-1dmqlhz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101135/original/image-20151107-16249-1dmqlhz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101135/original/image-20151107-16249-1dmqlhz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101135/original/image-20151107-16249-1dmqlhz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101135/original/image-20151107-16249-1dmqlhz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101135/original/image-20151107-16249-1dmqlhz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tack-tastic street art at Wynwood Walls.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/visitflorida/9272386100/">VISIT FLORIDA/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Take, as a prime example, the <a href="http://thewynwoodwalls.com/">Wynwood Walls</a> project in Miami – probably the most famous and widely-imitated of the thousands of street art festivals that exist today. Established in 2009 by the property tycoon Tony Goldman, Wynwood Walls is widely held to have turned a run-down neighbourhood into a location now famed as much for its nightlife as its art: an area where factories have been converted into galleries, and warehouses into clubs and bars.</p>
<p>But this success has come at the cost of the lives and homes of the local Puerto Rican community. What Goldman famously called “gentlefication” is, of course, nothing of the sort. The art of Wynwood is not only superficial – it is a practice of colonisation: artists arrive (responding to the call of capital), ignorant of local circumstances (and too apathetic to enquire), and create a vibrant veneer which removes any trace of the existing communities. </p>
<h2>Telling the ugly truth</h2>
<p>Yet amid this fresh, brightly-coloured hell of kitsch critters and “erotic” female figures, all is not lost. I believe we can still find our way to a critical street art, which calls to attention the inequalities, counter-cultures and diversity embodied by the contemporary city.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101171/original/image-20151108-16253-t4hjq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/101171/original/image-20151108-16253-t4hjq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101171/original/image-20151108-16253-t4hjq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101171/original/image-20151108-16253-t4hjq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101171/original/image-20151108-16253-t4hjq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101171/original/image-20151108-16253-t4hjq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/101171/original/image-20151108-16253-t4hjq8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mural by Spanish artist Escif.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/duncan/8094958275/sizes/l">duncan/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Talented contemporary artists such as <a href="https://www.artsy.net/artist/eb-itso">E. B. Itso</a>, <a href="http://www.eltono.com/en">Eltono</a> and <a href="http://www.streetagainst.com/">Escif</a> are leading the way. Along with names such as <a href="http://www.akayism.org/">Akay</a>, <a href="http://www.braddowney.com/">Brad Downey</a> and <a href="http://t-radya.com/">Timo Radya</a>, they are finding creative ways to question and critique our environments, delve into the nature of our surroundings and reorder our streets and cities.</p>
<p>The festivals, the institutions supporting street art can still have role here – but only through supporting work which might not be liked: not everything needs to be pretty, and not everyone has to agree. There is beauty in witnessing different ways of being, in questioning your own morals and mores and in being exposed to people and practices which are radically different to oneself. Those who have the power to affect the appearance of our urban environments must embrace this beauty. It’s no easy task, but better an ugly truth than a beautiful lie.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46030/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rafael Schacter is the creative director and head curator of Approved by Pablo.</span></em></p>The “edgy authenticity” of street art makes it an ideal tool for urban planners seeking to attract the new “creative class”.Rafael Schacter, British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.