Creative Cities Network

Not to be confused with:

• Creative Cities, an international European project designed and managed by the British Council.
• Creative city, an urban planning concept.
• Creative City, an urban development project in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.

The Creative Cities Network is a project under the patronage of UNESCO. With the aim of celebrating and maintaining cultural diversity, the alliance formed by member cities share their experiences in promoting the local heritage, as well as discuss plans on how to cope with the influx of globalization. The Creative Cities Network aims to find and enrich a member city’s cultural identity in the midst of a growing trend towards internationalism.

The project focuses on the main product of excellence of these cities, and finds ways to maintain its relevance in city life, local economy and social development. The fields of excellence are classified among: Literature, Film, Music, Craft and Folk Art, Design, Media Arts, and Gastronomy.

Despite the general knowledge that change (towards modernity) is generated from urbanization, the Network aims to adapt and harness the proliferation of technology and social development to further a city’s product of excellence. In doing so, the city becomes a center for the protection of a past industry and its eventual preservation.

Members

To be a member, interested cities must apply to the network, and meet the criteria set by UNESCO. There are several categories under which cities can apply. These are:

Literature

Cities currently designated as a City of Literature are:

• Edinburgh, Scotland, UK: promotional film
• Melbourne, Australia^[1]
• Iowa City, USA
• Dublin, Ireland^[2]
• Reykjavik, Iceland

Film

• Bradford, England, UK
• Sydney, Australia^[3]

Music

• Bologna, Italy
• Seville, Spain
• Glasgow, Scotland, UK
• Ghent, Belgium
• Harbin, China^[4]

Crafts and Folk Art

• Aswan, Egypt
• Santa Fe, USA
• Kanazawa, Japan
• Icheon, South Korea^[5]

Design

• Berlin, Germany
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Montreal, Canada
• Nagoya, Japan
• Kobe, Japan
• Shenzhen, China
• Seoul, South Korea^[6]
• Shanghai, China^[7]
• Graz, Austria^[8]
• Saint-Étienne, France^[9]

Media Arts

• Lyon, France

Gastronomy

• Popayán, Colombia
• Chengdu, China^[10]
• Östersund, Sweden^[11]

References

1. ^ Melbourne, Australia. UNESCO City of Literature.
2. ^ Dublin, Icheon, Östersund and Seoul designated as UNESCO Creative Cities, 27 July 2010.
3. ^ St-Etienne and Sydney nominated UNESCO Creative Cities , 22 November 2010.
4. ^ UN recognizes China's northeastern Harbin as "Music City", 26 June 2010.
5. ^ Dublin, Icheon, Östersund and Seoul designated as UNESCO Creative Cities, 27 July 2010.
6. ^ Dublin, Icheon, Östersund and Seoul designated as UNESCO Creative Cities, 27 July 2010.
7. ^ Shanghai and Chengdu nominated UNESCO Creative Cities, 12 March 2011.
8. ^ Graz designated as UNESCO Creative City, 14 March 2011.
9. ^ St-Etienne and Sydney nominated UNESCO Creative Cities , 22 November 2010.
10. ^ Shanghai and Chengdu nominated UNESCO Creative Cities, 12 March 2011.
11. ^ Dublin, Icheon, Östersund and Seoul designated as UNESCO Creative Cities, 27 July 2010.

Further reading and viewing

• Creative Cities Documentary
• Scott, Allen J. (2006) "Creative Cities: Conceptual Issues and Policy Questions", Journal of Urban Affairs, 28: 1–17.

External links

• Official website