You are here

The starting assumption of the project is that creativity can act as a driving force for economic development of small urban centres and not only of big cities. Thus, the main value-added that the work of the Creative Clusters network can produce is to transfer the “creative city model” (too much focused on big and middle-sized metropolis) to low density urban areas. In other words, to transfer a range of so far considered urban attributes (accessibility, cultural life, technological facilities, competitive clusters, global networking, etc.) to middle-sized and small towns.

This is relevant at European Union level because the project is going to explore the capacity of the creative issue to impulse a sort of leapfrog in terms of social and economic development for small and midsize towns as well as an excellent opportunity to re-think rural development.

The objective of this URBACT network is to promote the exchange of experiences and best practices and the proposal of policy recommendations and action plans related to creative clusters in low density urban areas. It is also an intention of the partners to assist policy-makers and managers of Operational Programmes to define initiatives in this field, which may be selected for Structural Funds programmes.

See complete overviewSee results

Timeline

2008
Project launch
2011
Project completed

Integrated Action Plans

Within an Action Planning Network, the Integrated Action Plan is a local output, specific to each city. Thus, the local circumstances, as the concrete actions to be carried out in response to the network's sustainable development challenges, are defined by the URBACT Local Group. This core group is composed by a wide range of relevant stakeholders, who have a stake in the addressed challenge and who play an active role in co-designing the plan alongside the project partner. This document is the result of the interplay between the theme, each city's starting point and its individual URBACT journey. It highlights the positive learning experience cities have undertaken, both from a local and a transnational perspective.
  • Óbidos
  • Enguera
  • Viareggio
  • Catanzaro
  • Reggio Emilia
  • Hódmezővásárhely
  • Mizil
  • Jyväskylä
  • Barnsley