June 7, 2012

Oli Mould argues it could be time planners embraced new temporary and ‘pop-up’ urbanism initiatives as an ongoing force for sustainable urban renewal

There is no getting away from it; creativity is now firmly entrenched in urban policy. The rapid deindustrialisation that much of the western world experienced in the latter stages of the 20th century saw many local, urban and national governments looking for alternative ways to rejuvenate dilapidated urban centres.

This was catalysed by the popularity of ideas such as the ‘creative class’ by Richard Florida. This saw creativity become a central tenant in urban development policies, with a whole range of global north cities, from Sydney to Sheffield and from Copenhagen to Cincinnati, enacting various policies designed to attract talented and creative people to their city.

However, the clamour for the ‘creative class’ by these cities has valorised and normalised a particular view of creativity. It is a view that is focused on very specific types of urban environments (café cultures and a night time economy), and a narrow band of creative practices, namely those that conform to capitalist accumulation, such as the creative industries and cultural consumption.