THE ROLE OF CREATIVE CITIES IN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

According to the European Agenda for Culture, cultural and creative industries can contribute towards the transformation of the economy; they can become a tool for promoting the sustainable development of European Union cities. Many cities and regions possess huge potential for local and regional development due to the spill-over effects on the broader economy. This paper aims to examine the way the analysed European cities design models to manage their cultural and creative resources for the purpose of generating new investment opportunities. The authors identify the potential and opportunities in selected European cities alongside the participation of citizens as representatives of diverse spheres of interest. The paper deals with the issue of how to unlock the potential that the art and culture of cities have. For research purposes, indepth interviews were conducted with key stakeholders of the cultural and creative sector of Rijeka. Citizens benefit from and participate in creating the local economy, with the aim of building a unique identity of cities based on which targeted investments will be made to ensure development, economic growth and new jobs. As the new economies of the twenty-first century are based on knowledge and “clean industries”, the paper’s authors put forward for Rijeka a series of measures focused on cultural and creative industries. In conclusion, cities are key places for the development of cultural and creative industries and the growth of these industries can be expected to fuel further development in the economic and the tourism sector.