""Small and Medium sized cities enter the stage of the Creative economy with URBACT""

" The URBACT Thematic Network Creative Clusters organised a launching conference for the second phase of its project in Óbidos (Portugal) on 21-23 January 2009 in the the framework of the 2009 European year of creativity and innovation. Following this event, Paul Soto, Thematic Pole Manager, and Miguel Rivas, Creative Clusters Lead Expert, published an article entitled "Small and Medium sized cities enter the stage of the Creative economy with URBACT". According to Paul Soto and Miguel Rivas, "The event resonance from other cities, urban policy makers and researchers was electric". They explain that "at the end of the first day, 25 European mayors and local political representatives signed the so-called 'Óbidos Charter – a Pact for Creativity'. This commits them to involving other small and medium sized European cities in a broader network to turn the creativity of their citizens into one of the corner-stones of future, sustainable urban development. " The starting assumption of the Creative Clusters project is that creativity can act as a driving force for economic development of small urban centres. It aims 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. The article deals with the main challenge and issues the Creative clusters network is facing and the expected lessons: "What is the creative economy and what chances does it have of responding to these ambitious challenges – especially in smaller cities?", "Can all small and medium sized cities do well in the creative economy?", "What lessons should cities bear in mind when approaching the Creative Economy?" The paper also presents the next steps "from local creative clusters to European creative networks". Read more:

• " " - Paul Soto & Miguel Rivas - Word document

"