White paper on creativity - ebla center

Chapter 33.2 The “geography ofcreativity” and the role ofcitiesIn the 1990s many observers believedthat the enormous progress made intelecommunications and thedematerialisation of many businessactivities would have led to the “deathof distance” or “the end ofgeography” – to cite titles whichappeared at the time in majorinternational magazines like theEconomist, Fortune and some others.But in fact none of all this hashappened. The rise of the knowledgeeconomy and creativity have, on thecontrary, seen the emergence of somepowerful geographical trends: somecities and regions have experiencedvery high growth rates and a social andeconomic renascence – for example,the re-flourishing of old cities likeBoston, Chicago, New York in theUnited States or London and Paris inEurope – while others have fallen intomore or less deep decline, which theyhave great difficulty in turning round(most examples – from Pittsburgh toDetroit – are found in the UnitedStates, where the more mobilepopulation makes certain trends moreobvious).The phenomena of localisation andconcentration of resources andbusiness activities are clearly still verypronounced, but follow differentcriteria from those that haddetermined the development of someareas during the industrial age.Whereas in the past the geographicalconcentration of business activitieswas more or less linked to their beingclose to certain natural resources, rawmaterialmarkets, suppliers or otherhighly specialised producers, todaythese features no longer seemsufficient conditions. The gradualfragmentation and globalisation ofproduction processes, on one hand,and the growing preponderance ofmore intangible business activities,linked to creativity, knowledge andinnovation, on the other, haveradically reshaped the factors guidingthe concentration processes of manybusinesses. What emerges today as themost critical element in the processesof development and innovation is infact the proximity and access to avariety of forms of knowledge, ideasand highly-qualified professional skills.All this appears to be closely linked tothe presence of elements such asuniversities, research centres, advancedservices and a labour force which ismore varied, better-educated and moreinternational than that involved intraditional production processes.That is why the urban environment,capable of bringing together thefeatures of density and concentrationbut also the variety of diverse culturesand economic and social activities, isonce more playing a leading role in theprocesses of growth and development.This role had had become weaker inthe 1960s and ‘70s, when many citiesbecame grey and dirty, dominated byindustrial activities and offices,WHITE PAPER ON CREATIVITY 72