Hobson’s choice? Constraints on accessing spaces of creative production

Successful creative production is often documented to occur in urban areas that are more likely to be diverse, a source of human capital and the site of dense interactions. These accounts chart how, historically, creative industries have clustered in areas where space was once cheap in the city centre fringe and inner city areas, often leading to the development of a creative milieu, and thereby stimulating further creative production. Historical accounts of the development of creative areas demonstrate the crucial role of accessible low-cost business premises. This article reports on the findings of a case study that investigated the location decisions of firms in selected creative industry sectors in Greater Manchester. The study found that, while creative activity remains highly concentrated in the city centre, creative space there is being squeezed and some creative production is decentralizing in order to access cheaper premises. The article argues that the location choices of creative industry firms are being constrained by the extensive city centre regeneration, with the most vulnerable firms, notably the smallest and youngest, facing a Hobson’s choice of being able to access low-cost premises only in the periphery. This disrupts the delicate balance needed to sustain production and begs the broader question as to how the creative economy fits into the existing urban fabric, alongside the competing demands placed on space within a transforming industrial conurbation

On the Existence of an Equilibrium in Models of Local Public Good Use by Cities to Attract the Creative Class

We analyze a stylized model of competition between two cities that use a local public good (LPG) to attract members of the creative class. The creative class consists of artists and engineers and we study the behavior of a representative artist and an engineer. The level of the LPG in each city is determined by majority voting of the two representative creative class members. If both representative members choose to live in the same city then the LPG provision is the average of the preferred quantities of the two members. In this setting, we perform three tasks. First, we ascertain the preferred quantity of the LPG for the representative artist and the engineer. Second, assuming that the representative artist and the engineer accurately predict the outcome of living in a particular city, we describe a scenario in which there is no equilibrium in our model. Finally, we show that if the representative artist and the engineer treat the LPG provision levels in each city as exogenous then an equilibrium does exist in the model

Using Local Public Goods to Attract and Retain the Creative Class: A Tale of Two Cities

We study the impact that the provision of a local public good (LPG) by two cities has on their ability to attract and retain members of the creative class. This creative class consists of two types of members known as engineers and artists. Engineers are wealthier than artists and they also value the LPG more. We first focus on each city in isolation. We compute the marginal value and the marginal cost of the LPG and then determine the provision of this LPG when the provision is determined by uniform contributions and majority voting. Next, we allow the creative class members to migrate between the two cities and analyze whether engineers or artists migrate, the equilibrium distribution of the creative class, and the efficiency of the LPG provision. Finally, we consider the situation in each city just before migration and study how much of the LPG is provided when proportional contributions and majority voting determine this provision. A related question we address is whether engineers or artists now have an incentive to migrate and, if yes, we identify who would like to migrate and to which city

Satisfaction guaranteed? Talent mobility and regional satisfaction

This chapter draws on interviews with musicians in Toronto to develop a framework to explain their mobility. The findings suggest that musicians are initially attracted by expectations of the amenities and other socioeconomic conditions they will find in a specific location. Places that meet or exceed expectations are deemed authentic. The research provides a nuanced theoretical framework relating regional amenities, attractiveness, and stated mobility intentions to inform policy actions that regions can use to help attract and retain talented individuals

Management, Participation and Entrepreneurship in the Cultural and Creative Sector: An Introduction

The purpose of this book is to support academics and practitioners involved in cultural organisations and cultural initiatives in their aim to create valuable societal impact by addressing these fundamental questions: What are the major challenges and transitions for cultural organisations? What role can cultural heritage play in contemporary societies? And what societal changes impact the relevance of culture and the arts in general? Organisational and societal change require a solid base of knowledge and experience, as well as their continuous reinterpretation and reflection. Arts and cultural artefacts highlight fundamental questions of economic and social developments and provide reflective platforms for societal discourses. The contributions of this book will address the relevance of culture, cultural entities and heritage as collective memories and reservoirs of experience for other social systems, change and societal innovators like entrepreneurs. Insofar, cultural activities can be understood as a bridge between past experience and future challenges. A special focus is dedicated to managerial practices, participation and entrepreneurship, as well as their inter-relations