The Department of European Studies at the Cracow University of Economics and the Jagiellonian Club are pleased to announce the international conference: The Idea of Creative City and the Urban Policy Debate to be held in October 17-18, 2013 in Cracow, Poland

The concept of “creative cities” has become popular among academics and policy-makers who are concerned with the future of cities. Creativity, creative industries and cultural resources are increasingly seen as a remedy for urban development in the postindustrial economy. The idea was developed and popularized by, among others, Charles Landry (“The Creative City: a toolkit for urban innovators”, 2000), Richard Florida (e.g., “Cities and the Creative Class”, 2005) and John Howkins (“The Creative Economy”, 2001). In the last decade, there have been many endeavors to put this concept into practice in various parts of the world, from Europe and United States to Japan.

The aim of the conference is to overview and assess the concept “creative cities” and its implementations. We are interested in a debate based on research, both theoretical and empirical, and on exploration of particular cases from all over the world, which can highlight potentials and pitfalls of putting the theoretical idea into practice. In particular, we are looking for comparative studies and different cases which may provide a lesson for Central Europe.

We address this conference to the representatives of academia dealing with urban studies, artistic community, policy-makers and non-governmental organizations interested in culture, creativity and urban policy. Our aim to to bring together people fascinated by the dynamic changes in contemporary cities.

Last but not least, there will be a discussion panel concerning Cracow and its potential as a creative city.

Key note speakers include:

Michael Hutter, Professor of Economics, Technical University Berlin, Director of the research unit ''Cultural Sources of Newness'', Social Science Research Center Berlin, Germany

Dennis Rodwell, Architect-Planner, Consultant in Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Urban Development, Scotland, United Kingdom

For more information including how to register, see the conference website.