Andy C . Pratt Creative cities : the cultural industries and the creative class

The aim of this paper is to critically examine the notion that the creative class may or may not play as a causal mechanism of urban regeneration. The paper begins with a review of Florida’s argument focusing on the conceptual and theoretical underpinnings. The second section develops a critique of the relationship between the creative class and growth. This is followed by an attempt to clarify the relationship between the concepts of creativity, culture and the creative industries. Finally, the paper suggests that policy makers may achieve more successful regeneration outcomes if they attend to the cultural industries as an object that links production and consumption, manufacturing and service. Such a notion is more useful in interpreting and understanding the significant role of cultural production in contemporary cities, and what relation it has to growth.