Creativity and Engagement in Cities

For me creativity and engagement go hand in hand; the engaging city is a creative city. And by creative city I don’t only think of the creative industries but a wider definition of creativity as an ability to make; making art, making things happen and making a difference.

As Phil Wood has said in an interview (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul3NWqqXyz4): “Creativity is an asset, it is a resource, it’s a tool. It is a way of looking again at your city”. I like the notion of ”looking again” or revisiting our cities. When we talk about creativity many people think of creativity and cities as spectacular art works but maybe need to work with a more inclusive understanding of creativity and to celebrate the genius of everyday life. To cite Phil Wood again: “Maybe the things that we think are weaknesses have hidden strengths in them”.

If we start to look at oue cities as the means to engaging with our issues rather than the ends that needs to be solved, I think we have come a long way - or as Charles Leadbeater has written: “Cities are experiments in how to live together creatively.”

Further reading:

• Charles Landry, Franco Bianchini, The Creative City, Demos: London, 1995
   
• Charles Leadbeater: What makes Cities Creative?
   

Video interview
Phil Wood talking about the Creative City