IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/urbstu/v47y2010i1p29-54.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A New Rubric for ‘Creative City’ Potential in Canada’s Smaller Cities

Author

Listed:
  • Nathaniel M. Lewis

    (Department of Geography, Queen's University, Kingston, K7L 3N6, Ontario, Canada, 6nl12@queensu.ca)

  • Betsy Donald

    (Department of Geography, Queen's University, Kingston, K7L 3N6, Ontario, Canada, betsy.donald@queensu.ca)

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’.

Suggested Citation

  • Nathaniel M. Lewis & Betsy Donald, 2010. "A New Rubric for ‘Creative City’ Potential in Canada’s Smaller Cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 47(1), pages 29-54, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:47:y:2010:i:1:p:29-54
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098009346867
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0042098009346867
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0042098009346867?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Berry, Christopher R. & Glaeser, Edward L., 2005. "Divergence of Human Capital Levels across Cities," Working Paper Series rwp05-057, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    2. Edward L. Glaeser & Joshua D. Gottlieb, 2006. "Urban Resurgence and the Consumer City," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 43(8), pages 1275-1299, July.
    3. Ann Markusen, 2003. "Fuzzy Concepts, Scanty Evidence, Policy Distance: The Case for Rigour and Policy Relevance in Critical Regional Studies," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(6-7), pages 701-717.
    4. Christopher R. Berry & Edward L. Glaeser, 2005. "The divergence of human capital levels across cities," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 84(3), pages 407-444, August.
    5. Paul Chatterton, 2000. "Will the real Creative City please stand up?," City, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(3), pages 390-397, November.
    6. Christopher R. Berry & Edward L. Glaeser, 2005. "The Divergence of Human Capital Levels Across Cities," NBER Working Papers 11617, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Pierre Filion, 1999. "Rupture or Continuity? Modern and Postmodern Planning in Toronto," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 421-444, September.
    8. Paul C. Cheshire, 2006. "Resurgent Cities, Urban Myths and Policy Hubris: What We Need to Know," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 43(8), pages 1231-1246, July.
    9. Manuel Castells, 2000. "Urban sustainability in the information age," City, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(1), pages 118-122, April.
    10. Christopher R. Berry & Edward L. Glaeser, 2005. "The Divergence of Human Capital Levels across Cities," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 2091, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    11. Timothy R. Wojan & Dayton M. Lambert & David A. McGranahan, 2007. "Emoting with their feet: Bohemian attraction to creative milieu -super-†," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(6), pages 711-736, November.
    12. Philip Cooke & Loet Leydesdorff, 2006. "Regional Development in the Knowledge-Based Economy: The Construction of Advantage," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 5-15, January.
    13. Peter Kitchen & Nazeem Muhajarine, 2008. "Quality of life research: New challenges and new opportunities," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 85(1), pages 1-4, January.
    14. Jamie Peck, 2005. "Struggling with the Creative Class," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 740-770, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pier Luigi Sacco & Alessandro Crociata, 2013. "A Conceptual Regulatory Framework for the Design and Evaluation of Complex, Participative Cultural Planning Strategies," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(5), pages 1688-1706, September.
    2. Peter Karl Kresl, 2012. "The future of Europe's smaller cities and towns," Chapters, in: Peter Karl Kresl & Daniele Ietri (ed.), European Cities and Global Competitiveness, chapter 16, pages 294-311, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Tara Vinodrai, 2011. "Understanding Canada’s Evolving Design Economy," Chapters, in: David Emanuel Andersson & Åke E. Andersson & Charlotta Mellander (ed.), Handbook of Creative Cities, chapter 8, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Peter Karl Kresl & Daniele Ietri (ed.), 2012. "European Cities and Global Competitiveness," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 14626.
    5. Shu-Hen Chiang, 2014. "The dilemma of "Twin Cities": is the suburban dependence hypothesis applicable?," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(2), pages 149-163, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Peter Mayerhofer & Oliver Fritz & Dieter Pennerstorfer, 2010. "Dritter Bericht zur internationalen Wettbewerbsfähigkeit Wiens," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 42430, April.
    2. Amitrajeet A. Batabyal & Hamid Beladi, 2022. "The Response of Creative Class Members to Regions Vying to Attract Them With Subsidies," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 45(5), pages 581-600, September.
    3. Aurélie LALANNE & Guillaume POUYANNE, 2012. "Ten years of metropolization in economics: a bibliometric approach (In French)," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2012-11, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    4. Viktor A. Venhorst, 2017. "Human capital spillovers in Dutch cities: consumption or productivity?," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 59(3), pages 793-817, November.
    5. Casey Dougal & Christopher A. Parsons & Sheridan Titman, 2014. "Urban Vibrancy and Corporate Growth," NBER Working Papers 20350, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Edward L. Glaeser & Joshua D. Gottlieb, 2008. "The Economics of Place-Making Policies," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 39(1 (Spring), pages 155-253.
    7. Champion, Tony & Coombes, Mike & Gordon, Ian R., 2013. "How far do England’s second-order cities emulate London as human-capital ‘escalators’?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 58447, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Emanuela Marrocu & Raffaele Paci, 2013. "Regional Development and Creativity," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 36(3), pages 354-391, July.
    9. Jaison R. Abel & Todd M. Gabe & Kevin Stolarick, 2014. "Skills across the Urban–Rural Hierarchy," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(4), pages 499-517, December.
    10. Liang Zheng, 2016. "What city amenities matter in attracting smart people?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 95(2), pages 309-327, June.
    11. Lewis Dijkstra & Enrique Garcilazo & Philip McCann, 2013. "The Economic Performance of European Cities and City Regions: Myths and Realities," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 334-354, March.
    12. Arntz, Melanie & Brüll, Eduard & Lipowski, Cäcilia, 2021. "Do preferences for urban amenities really differ by skill?," ZEW Discussion Papers 21-045, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    13. Brian Fabrègue & Léo J. Portal & Christopher Cockshaw, 2023. "Using smart people to build smarter: How smart cities attract and retain highly skilled workers to drive innovation (Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland)," Smart Cities and Regional Development (SCRD) Journal, Smart-EDU Hub, Faculty of Public Administration, National University of Political Studies & Public Administration, vol. 7(1), pages 9-30, March.
    14. Meir Russ & Gaurav Bansal & Adam Parrillo, 2017. "The “Knowledge City” and the “Experience City”: the Main, Mediating, and Moderating Effects of Education on Income and Economic Inequality," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 8(3), pages 804-829, September.
    15. David B. Audretsch & Erik E. Lehmann & Nikolaus Seitz, 2021. "Amenities, subcultures, and entrepreneurship," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 571-591, February.
    16. Krenz, Astrid, 2016. "Agglomeration of knowledge in the German regional economy," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 277, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    17. Jaewon Lim & Changkeun Lee & Euijune Kim, 2015. "Contributions of human capital investment policy to regional economic growth: an interregional CGE model approach," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 55(2), pages 269-287, December.
    18. Edward L. Glaeser & Scott Duke Kominers & Michael Luca & Nikhil Naik, 2018. "Big Data And Big Cities: The Promises And Limitations Of Improved Measures Of Urban Life," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 56(1), pages 114-137, January.
    19. Alessandra Cepparulo & Antonello Zanfei, 2019. "The diffusion of public eServices in European cities," Working Papers 1904, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Department of Economics, Society & Politics - Scientific Committee - L. Stefanini & G. Travaglini, revised 2019.
    20. Li, Xiaoying & Tan, Ying, 2020. "University R&D activities and firm innovations," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:47:y:2010:i:1:p:29-54. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/urbanstudiesjournal .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.