White paper on creativity - ebla center

Chapter 3which it is manifested and of which itis part (Csíkszentmihályi, 1996). viSecondly, the studies also highlighthow the conditions for the existenceof these “creative climates” are notfixed and unchanging, but vary andtypically dry up in time. In Cities inCivilisation Peter Hall speaks of “instant creativity” precisely to stress itschanging and transitory nature (Hall,1988).Although fascinating and rich in usefulideas, these works have a majordrawback for our purposes: they onlyidentify the creative cities ex-post onthe basis of an overall judgementconsidered to be unchallengeable (whocould argue today that RenaissanceFlorence was not creative?). Thisinconfutable definition of a creativecity is not very useful for the purposesof contemporary research. How canwe assess and recognise the creativepotential of today’s cities. How can wemanage that potential and guide theirfuture development? Such works donot help us answer these particularlyimportant questions raised by policymakers.Some more recent works tend toassess creative cities not in relation tothe results of the past, but on the basisof a set of conditions consideredcritical forms of a very different kindof creativity, more wide-ranging anddiffuse compared to some individuallyexcellent and very conspicuous artisticforms. These more diffuse expressionsof creativity range from fields such asresearch and development toinformation technologies, engineering,biotechnology, science andmultimedia.Adopting an approach of this kindmeans being able to assess the creativepotential of a city not only byacknowledging excellent outputs butalso through activities and investmentsex-ante which lead to the creation andspread of new knowledge through thepresence of important researchcentres, an innovative business fabric,and cutting-edge communicationtechnologies.The American economist, RichardFlorida, for example, suggests anapproach combining various “systemindicators” like those just mentioned.But he adds another concerning thepresence in the city of what he calls a“creative class”. The creative classincludes people engaged in nonstandardised,non-routine businessactivities in any industrial orcommercial sector and who arecontinually asked to tackle and solvenew problems and situations. They areprofessionals (architects, engineers,physicians, lawyers, researchers,scientists, computer experts etc.) butalso managers and entrepreneurs – abroad group of people which includesbut goes well beyond the stillconventionally used limited notion ofcreatives as artists, writers andmusicians (Florida, 2003).According to Florida, then, the size ofthe creative class in a city (together,obviously, with other conditions ofcontext) is one of the main indicatorsof the creative potential of a region.WHITE PAPER ON CREATIVITY 74