Place matters

How can we make our cities even more liveable? All over the world, cities are looking for new ideas on how to make life in urban areas better and more pleasant. This is not just about quality of life, but also about remaining attractive in the competition for talented people and investment.

British urban researcher Charles Landry has been pursuing a clear vision since the 1980s: cities should be creative places that utilise the ideas and commitment of all residents. With his Creative City model, he places creative energy at the heart of future-oriented urban development - whether through neighbourhood initiatives, new forms of administration or the professional creative industries.

With this concept, Landry is a globally sought-after expert and source of inspiration for politicians and city administrations. Together with his agency Comedia, he has already advised over 500 cities - from Helsinki to Dubai, from Osaka to Oldenburg. At the German Creative Economy Summit, the 76-year-old presented his key ideas - alternating charmingly between German and English - and was available to answer our questions after his presentation.

You have continuously developed your concept and toolkit for creative cities over the decades. What is important today that you didn't think about when you started your work?

When I originally had the idea, the old industry was on its knees. Back then, it was all about questions about the future and identity of places. The realisation that the creative economy is also an important industry for cities was very new at the time. This thought triggered further ideas in me. I thought about broader forms of creativity that come together to form an overall structure. A wonderful German word came into my head: a city could be like a Gesamtkunstwerk. In this respect, my concept of creativity has expanded over the years. Later, the idea of a creative bureaucracy was added. If you see the city as an ecosystem, then the administration plays a particularly central role in it.

However, I didn't take enough account of or foresee some problems, both long-term and contemporary, back then. For example, climate change. Or how rapidly gentrification can take effect. That got me into a few shitstorms on Twitter.

Let's talk about specific places! Many creative professionals are looking for special spaces - and often find them in the relics of other industries. In abandoned industrial halls and factories, like here at Kampnagel. Or recently increasingly in empty department stores. What will the creative spaces of the future look like?

It depends on the location. In a city like Rüsselsheim, which I analysed for the Cities Ahead project, the possibilities and potential spaces are endless. But where the property market is hot, other solutions are needed. In London, all the spaces are already occupied, which is why they are experimenting with container architecture, for example. Old industrial architecture will remain popular in the future because it feels informal and not completely finished. You could also call it shabby chic - a counterpart to the stiff corporate setting.

And what will be next? I think there will be more modular spaces. In other words, spaces with flexible and changing uses. And this modularity will be reflected in the architecture. There is an exciting bank branch on Friedrichstrasse in Berlin. You walk in, see a long table, a door to a garden and a bank counter. You ask yourself: have I ended up in a bank, a café or at a start-up?

Are physical locations still important in the digitalised world?

They definitely are! Studies show: The more digital we become, the more places and direct connections matter. Place matters. And as you can see, I'm here at the congress in person. It's simply different to being there via video.

Critics point to the impending dangers if a city becomes too attractive: Over-tourism, rising rents or the displacement of creative uses in increasingly densely built-up neighbourhoods, for example at the expense of music clubs. How can creatives ensure that they do not become victims of the attractiveness they have created themselves?

That is the big dilemma. With the idea of the Creative City, we want to improve places - for everyone. But when places become more beautiful, it attracts new people. Overtourism is a bloody thing. Gentrification is a real problem and one of the big issues in the development of cities worldwide. It needs regulation, we can't leave it to the market alone. There must continue to be room for non-commercial places and uses without market value. There is no simple solution to this. My answer is collaboration: between the public sector, civil society and the private sector. It's a give and take from which everyone can benefit.

Is there a good example of this?

For me, Bilbao is a role model for functioning partnerships. We all know the Guggenheim Museum, but the fact that the city is so inspiring today has a different background. After a major flood, the city was strategically remodelled and made a new experience - also with the help of art, design and the creative industries. Behind this was a successful co-operation of over 140 public and private institutions.

What role do politics and administration play on the way to becoming a creative city? Creativity can't simply be planned, can it?

Yes and no. It can be facilitated. There are of course methods to promote creative processes. What is needed is an administration that is open to unconventional steps and does not make premature judgements, even if the results appear chaotic at first glance. I call this Creative Bureaucracy.

In my presentation, I talked about Amsterdam. Amsterdam recognised the importance of creative spaces and started early on to secure buildings for cultural and artistic uses. These so-called broedplaatsen, or incubators, can now be found decentralised throughout the city.

The Creative City is based on the idea of ubiquitous creativity. What role do professional creatives play in this model?

In principle, everyone can be creative. But some people are objectively a little more creative than others. Professional creatives often have their very own way of thinking, an innovative and lateral way of thinking. With an open mindset, they scrutinise familiar things and processes. I have accompanied various projects in which industrial companies have sought support from creatives - because of the different ways of thinking. Many more connections could be made between the creative industries and other areas of life. For example, in the healthcare sector: why shouldn't there be prescriptions for games or comedy as well as tablets?

One problem is that the creative industries do not speak to politicians with a common voice, but each sector speaks for itself. This makes it easy to overlook the value that is created here.

We are currently experiencing a political shift to the right in many places. Is this a danger for creative professionals and the concept of the creative city?

I do see a danger because such developments can mean less openness and more control. And because diversity is perceived as a threat. But creativity needs diversity and openness. That's the starting point for innovative thinking.

You have analysed and advised cities all over the world. Finally, can you give us some advice or an example that other cities can learn from?

I was impressed by Helsinki. I was there a few years ago at a big festival for start-ups. It was a cold, dark winter. But they used this circumstance in a positive way and advertised with a slogan like "Embrace the darkness". So: draw on your cultural identity, combine it with a certain self-confidence and a bit of humour.