Beyond the creative city: new interdisciplinary topographies for creative place making
A trilateral collaboration between The University of Manchester, University of Melbourne and University of Toronto brought together experts in creative and cultural industries to reconsider the relevance of the creative city model in a post-covid world.
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Analysing post-covid creative cities
The creative cities initiative was set up to enable creativity through art, music, culture and innovation, and promote the creative industries as a basis for development. Urban planning in creative cities prioritises creative facilities and encourages creative activities to foster community engagement and drive economic growth.
Post-pandemic, there was growing concern that COVID-19 had disrupted the business model. With city centres no longer used in the same way, the geographies didn’t align with the established creative city model.
There was also criticism for the initiative’s lack of place sensitivity, with some suggesting it masks – and sometimes even exacerbates – existing inequalities.
“Creative placemaking has been a longstanding instrument in the urban development toolkit, as an engine for growth, public realm improvements and increased land value. This collaboration has helped get under the bonnet of these ‘creative cities’ and see the impact on their cultural infrastructure and on the creative lives of those who live, work and play in them. ”
Professor Abigail Gilmore
Adapting and planning for the future
Bringing together experts from all three institutions, the project goes beyond the creative city to explore next steps. Incorporating small cities, satellite towns, suburbs and semi-rural settlements, the researchers examined the place of creativity in a post-covid environment that no longer aligns with a traditional city concept.
Using the city regions of Manchester, Melbourne and Toronto as examples, the project team looked to establish new paradigms for creative place making. Early career researchers collaborated with senior academics, exchanging research, co-mentoring and sharing collective knowledge to influence policy engagement and government agenda-setting. This resulted in the establishment of the Beyond Creative Cities global research network, set up to ensure long-term progress for the initiative.
Influencing policy and practice
This far-reaching collaboration combined diverse disciplines including economics, geography, cultural studies and sociology with practitioner knowledge – strengthening existing relationships. It has both furthered the creative and cultural industries research across all three institutions, and informed urban planning across the city regions. It has also been an effective vehicle for developing and sustaining relationships with external partners who have the ability to influence policy and practice.
The project further boosted the collaborative force of the trilateral alliance, opening up opportunities for joint teaching and leading to the creation of shared teaching materials (Manchester-Melbourne) for a PGT course unit in Creative Place Making.
International partnerships
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