The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

A new rubric for 'Creative City' potential in Canada's smaller cities

A new rubric for 'Creative City' potential in Canada's smaller cities
A new rubric for 'Creative City' potential in Canada's smaller cities
In Canada and elsewhere, Richard Florida’s ‘creative capital’ model has gained considerable influence over urban policy and development strategies. The model posits that most cities can be economically successful if they become diverse, high-tech and amenity-rich. The way that creative capital is theorised, quantified and applied, however, tends to marginalise smaller Canadian cities. We use recent census data and qualitative evidence from a study on the social dynamics of economic performance in Kingston, Ontario, to argue that a new rubric based on livability and sustainability provides a more optimistic and empowering picture of creative potential in smaller Canadian cities. Critiques of creative capital thus far have tended to discredit the model entirely, leaving large cities as winners by default in an irrational capitalist system and small cities with few options. Instead, the goal of this paper is to change fundamentally the parameters of the creativity debate for smaller cities by offering new ways to conceptualise and operationalise development in the ‘new economy’.
0042-0980
29-54
Lewis, Nathaniel M.
f0218afb-51ea-4141-a1e9-d031d8b98645
Donald, B.
ef17009e-65f6-4231-a3bf-865af8852274
Lewis, Nathaniel M.
f0218afb-51ea-4141-a1e9-d031d8b98645
Donald, B.
ef17009e-65f6-4231-a3bf-865af8852274

Lewis, Nathaniel M. and Donald, B. (2010) A new rubric for 'Creative City' potential in Canada's smaller cities. Urban Studies, 47 (1), 29-54. (doi:10.1177/0042098009346867).

Record type: Article

Abstract

In Canada and elsewhere, Richard Florida’s ‘creative capital’ model has gained considerable influence over urban policy and development strategies. The model posits that most cities can be economically successful if they become diverse, high-tech and amenity-rich. The way that creative capital is theorised, quantified and applied, however, tends to marginalise smaller Canadian cities. We use recent census data and qualitative evidence from a study on the social dynamics of economic performance in Kingston, Ontario, to argue that a new rubric based on livability and sustainability provides a more optimistic and empowering picture of creative potential in smaller Canadian cities. Critiques of creative capital thus far have tended to discredit the model entirely, leaving large cities as winners by default in an irrational capitalist system and small cities with few options. Instead, the goal of this paper is to change fundamentally the parameters of the creativity debate for smaller cities by offering new ways to conceptualise and operationalise development in the ‘new economy’.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 27 October 2009
Published date: January 2010
Organisations: Population, Health & Wellbeing (PHeW)

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 377673
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/377673
ISSN: 0042-0980
PURE UUID: 07c2e854-a74f-4ba5-8c9b-94388971c65c

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 09 Jun 2015 13:10
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 20:07

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Nathaniel M. Lewis
Author: B. Donald

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×