De creatieve stad.Concurreren in de kenniseconomie

In this paper the position of cities in the present knowledge economy is explored. We argue that the knowledge economy asks for ‘creative cities’, being cities that are able to combine both concentration, diversity, instability as well as a positive image in the outside world. After having reviewed examples of creative cities in history and recent ‘best practices’ of such cities in the European economy, we conclude that knowledge, creativity and innovation cannot be planned by local governments. This is not to say, however, that local policy makers cannot play a part in preparing cities for the knowledge economy. In our view, by providing framework conditions local governments may give co-incidence a helping hand and increase the chance that knowledge, creativity and innovation emerge.