The Creative Capital of Cities

This book challenges the new urban growth concepts of the creative class and creative industries from a critical urban theory perspective. Critiques Richard Florida's popular books about cities and the creative class Presents an alternative approach based on analyses of empirical research data concerning the German urban system and the case study regions, Hanover and Berlin Underscores that the culture industry takes a leading role in conforming with neoliberal conceptions of labor markets

List of Illustrations vii Series Editors’ Preface x Introduction 1 1 Creativity and Innovation under the Command of Capital 12 The Capitalist Imperative of Creativity and Innovation 12 Generalizing Models of Urban Economic Development 18 The Role of Innovation and Interurban Competition in Harvey’s Theory of Capitalist Urbanization 24 Conclusion 34 2 Creative Cities as a New Urban Growth Ideology: The Impact of Creative Occupations on Regional Economic Success 37 Introduction 37 Critique of Florida’s Conception of the Creative Class 39 An Assessment of Regional Economic Success Factors and the Impact of Creative Workers on Regional Development 47 The Impact of Creative Occupational Groups on Regional Economic Development in Germany 52 Relationship between “Qualities of Place” and the Regional Concentration of Scientifically and Technologically Creative Workers 77 Conclusion 88 3 Innovation and Knowledge Networks in a Metropolitan Region: The Impact of Localization Economies and Networking on Technological Creativity 92 Introduction 92 Innovation and Knowledge Networks: Theoretical Approaches 97 The Application of Network Analysis to Urban Regions’ Knowledge Networks 104 Geographic Scales and Structural Properties of Knowledge Networks in the Metropolitan Region of Hanover 109 Assessment of Network Impacts on Regional Firms’ Innovation Output 121 Conclusion 125 4 Creativity in the Culture and Media Industries: The Impact of Commercial Imperatives on Artistic Creativity 128 Introduction 128 The Institutional Order of the Cultural Economy: Creativity in a Capitalist Context 131 Global Centers of the Culture Industry and the Production of Lifestyle Images 146 Conclusion 155 5 Local Clustering of the Cultural Economy in the Metropolis of Berlin: The Urbanization Economies of Artistically Creative Occupations 158 Introduction 158 The Rise of the Cultural Economy in Berlin’s Inner-City Area 163 Creative Cities and the Role of the Culture Industries in Urban Economic and Spatial Development: Implications for Urban Regeneration 183 Conclusion 191 6 Synthesis: The Creative Capital of Cities 194 Appendix: Grouping of Occupations and Subsectors 208 References 219 Index 234