ECONOMICS UNIQUENESS

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Livable Historic City Cores and
Enabling Environment: A Successful
Recipe to Attract Investment to Cities
John O’Brien
Head of Business Strategy, Industrial Development Agency (Ireland)
This chapter outlines the economic and social benefi ts of investing in historic city
core regeneration and cultural heritage conservation, focusing on their role to
defi ne urban livability and attract investments for job creation. Touching tourism,
but also going beyond it, the chapter begins by quoting Nobel Prize Laureate
Robert Solow on the importance of identity and livability for places to succeed
economically. Then, the content of the other chapters of the book is briefl y presented,
followed by an analysis of the role of cities in modern economies and the
huge potential of foreign direct investments for job creation. Subsequently, Richard
Florida’s concept of the creative class is introduced, and heritage is described as
a differentiator to ensure city livability and attract talents to cities. The successful
story of Dublin is presented as a case study, describing it as a city that has successfully
leveraged its historic city core to create a “talent hub”—attracting world
leaders in knowledge industries to establish operations there while at the same
time becoming a hotspot for indigenous entrepreneurial development. The chapter
explains how the linkage between a livable historic city core and a city’s ability to
attract business is not confi ned to businesses that locate in or near the core. In
the case of Dublin, proximity to a livable historic city core has also proved to be
important for knowledge-intensive companies located on the periphery.
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