Creative Cities Network

Not to be confused with:

• Creative Cities, an international European project designed and managed by the British Council.
• Creative city, an urban planning concept.
• Creative City, an urban development project in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.

The Creative Cities Network is a project under the patronage of UNESCO. With the aim of celebrating and maintaining cultural diversity, the alliance formed by member cities share their experiences in promoting the local heritage, as well as discuss plans on how to cope with the influx of globalization. The Creative Cities Network aims to find and enrich a member city’s cultural identity in the midst of a growing trend towards internationalism.

The project focuses on the main product of excellence of these cities, and finds ways to maintain its relevance in city life, local economy and social development. The fields of excellence are classified among: Literature, Film, Music, Craft and Folk Art, Design, Media Arts, and Gastronomy.

Despite the general knowledge that change (towards modernity) is generated from urbanization, the Network aims to adapt and harness the proliferation of technology and social development to further a city’s product of excellence. In doing so, the city becomes a center for the protection of a past industry and its eventual preservation.

Categories

UNESCO Cities of Literature

The first cultural category introduced to the Creative Cities Network was Literature. Edinburgh was the inaugural city in 2004. Cities which apply to become Cities of Literature must exhibit an urban environment where poetry, literature or drama plays an integral role. They must have numerous publishing and editing facilities which UNESCO judge to be of sufficient quality. There must be a quantity of high quality libraries, book shops and public museums dedicated to archiving and collecting national and foreign literature. A city of literature candidate must also have a recognised education system with schools, colleges and universities offering a wide range of initiatives and courses which promote literature. Finally, the cities have to be able to show experience in hosting events which promote the benefits of literature in addition to media marketing towards literature.^[1]

City	Country	Inauguration
Dublin[2]	Republic of Ireland	2010
Dunedin[3]	New Zealand	2014
Edinburgh[4]	United Kingdom	2004
Granada[5]	Spain	2014
Heidelberg[6]	Germany	2014
Iowa City[7]	United States	2008
Kraków[8]	Poland	2013
Melbourne[9]	Australia	2008
Norwich[10]	United Kingdom	2012
Prague[11]	Czech Republic	2014
Reykjavík[12]	Iceland	2011

UNESCO Cities of Film

A category introduced in 2009, Film is the most recent addition to the cultural categories included in the Creative Cities Network. Bradford became the inaugural City of Film. Applicants to this category are expected to have cinematic infrastructure in place, including studios, landscapes, environments and film-making training centres. Furthermore there should be a history of links to film productions, distributing, marketing and commercialisation processes of cinematography shown by the city. In addition to this, Cities of Film should have a number of quality displays and archived records relating to film in museums, libraries and private collections. Candidate cities need to be able to show they can host film festivals, both international and local. Finally, a combination of schools, colleges and media are expected to promote the film industry.^[13]

City	Country	Inauguration
Bradford[14]	United Kingdom	2009
Busan[15]	South Korea	2014
Galway[16]	Republic of Ireland	2014
Sofia[17]	Bulgaria	2014
Sydney[18]	Australia	2010

UNESCO Cities of Music

Music was introduced in 2006 as the fifth cultural category in the Creative Cities Network. Bologna and Seville were the inaugural Cities of Music. Successful candidate cities must exhibit experience in holding music festivals and concerts at an international level as well as a local level and possess the appropriate venues, concert halls and auditoriums to continue to do so in the future. They must also be recognised hubs for music creation through the availability of specialised music schools, amateur choirs, bands and orchestras, and studio facilities. Successful applicant cities will be expected to promote musical creation and activity through local print and online media.^[19]

City	Country	Inauguration
Bogotá[20]	Colombia	2012
Bologna[21]	Italy	2006
Brazzaville[22]	Republic of Congo	2013
Ghent[23]	Belgium	2009
Glasgow[24]	United Kingdom	2008
Hamamatsu[25]	Japan	2014
Hannover[26]	Germany	2014
Harbin[27]	China	2010
Mannheim[28]	Germany	2014
Seville[29]	Spain	2006

UNESCO Cities of Crafts and Folk Art

Crafts and Folk Art was introduced as a class of culture as in 2005 as part of the Creative Cities Network's first expansion. Aswan became the first City of Crafts and Folk Art as well as the first African city in the network. Applicant cities must exhibit both a long-lasting history and contemporary production of certain forms of crafts and folk-art. There must be a visible local population which contribute in the creation of the crafts and art. Cities of Crafts and Folk Art must make it a priority to promote the local crafts and art by hosting festivals, events and exhibitions in addition to establishing training centres to raise knowledge about the history and methodology behind the local crafts. Infrastructure including museums and art shops are also needed to raise the profile of the local folk art and crafts scene.^[30]

City	Country	Inauguration
Aswan[31]	Egypt	2005
Fabriano[32]	Italy	2013
Hangzhou[33]	China	2012
Icheon[34]	South Korea	2010
Jacmel[35]	Haiti	2014
Jingdezhen[36]	China	2014
Kanazawa[37]	Japan	2009
Nassau[38]	Bahamas	2014
Paducah[39]	United States	2013
Pekalongan[40]	Indonesia	2014
Santa Fe[41]	United States	2005
Suzhou[42]	China	2014

UNESCO Cities of Design

The introduction of design as a cultural class of the Creative Cities Network was in 2005. It formed part of the first expansion of the network. Berlin, Buenos Aires and Santa Fe were the initial Cities of Design. Successful applicant cities must have an established design industry. This includes forms of design which integrate and enhance the city environment such as architecture, planning, public realm, sculptures and street art; as well as design driven creative industries such as interiors, fashion, textiles and jewellery. In order to enhance knowledge about design there must be adequate provision of design schools and research centres in the city in addition to the opportunity for local designers to take advantage of local materials and urban conditions. Cities of Design must also have experience hosting national and international fairs, events and exhibitions relating to design industries.^[43]

City	Country	Inauguration
Beijing[44]	China	2012
Berlin[45]	Germany	2005
Bilbao[46]	Spain	2014
Buenos Aires[47]	Argentina	2005
Curitiba[48]	Brazil	2014
Dundee[49]	United Kingdom	2014
Graz[50]	Austria	2011
Helsinki[51]	Finland	2014
Kobe[52]	Japan	2008
Montreal[53]	Canada	2006
Nagoya[54]	Japan	2008
Saint Étienne[55]	France	2010
Santa Fe[56]	United States	2005
Seoul[57]	South Korea	2010
Shanghai[58]	China	2010
Shenzhen[59]	China	2008
Turin[60]	Italy	2014

UNESCO Cities of Media Arts

Added as a cultural class in 2008, Media Arts is the second most recent addition to the Creative Cities Network. The inaugural city of Media Arts was Lyon, which became the first French city to join the network. Applicant cities are expected to show a nurturing of cultural industries relating to digital technology. The growth in the video games industry or electronic arts industry and the successful integration of media arts leading to an improvement in city life are valid reasons stated by UNESCO for a successful application. Furthermore, provisions for studios and accommodation for digital media artists and the accessibility to culture through digital technology for city populations are established as ways to become a City of Media Arts.^[61]

City	Country	Inauguration
Dakar[62]	Senegal	2014
Enghien-les-Bains[63]	France	2013
Gwangju[64]	South Korea	2014
Linz[65]	Austria	2014
Lyon[66]	France	2008
Sapporo[67]	Japan	2013
Tel Aviv-Yafo[68]	Israel	2014
York[69]	United Kingdom	2014

UNESCO Cities of Gastronomy

Gastronomy was introduced to the Creative Cities Network in 2005 during the first expansion. The inaugural city was Popayan. To be a City of Gastronomy a diverse range of traditional restaurants must be present, with chefs suitably trained in the culinary practices of the local area cooking to the traditional practices. There must be local expertise in the old style methods of cooking which have survived through industrial and technical evolution. Food markets, gastronomic festivals, contests and awards are all examples of events which successful applicant cities should be hosting. There should be a respect for the environment, sustainability and nurturing of public appreciation - all of which should be promoted through school curriculum. Furthermore, schools should aim to provide cooking programmes which raise awareness of the local cooking styles.^[70]

City	Country	Inauguration
Chengdu[71]	China	2010
Florianopolis[72]	Brazil	2014
Jeonju[73]	South Korea	2012
Östersund[74]	Sweden	2010
Popayán[75]	Colombia	2005
Shunde[76]	China	2014
Tsuruoka[77]	Japan	2014
Zahlé[78]	Lebanon	2013

UNESCO Creative Cities by Country

Countries which have more than one city in the Creative Cities Network.

Country	Cities	Total
China	Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Harbin, Jingdezhen, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Shunde, Suzhou	9
Japan	Hamamatsu, Kanazawa, Kobe, Nagoya, Sapporo, Tsuruoka	6
United Kingdom	Bradford, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Norwich, York
South Korea	Busan, Icheon, Gwangju, Jeonju, Seoul	5
Germany	Berlin, Hannover, Heidelberg, Mannheim	4
France	Enghien-les-Bains, Lyon, Saint-Étienne	3
Spain	Bilbao, Granada, Seville
United States	Iowa City, Paducah, Santa Fe
Italy	Bologna, Turin, Fabriano
Australia	Melbourne, Sydney	2
Austria	Graz, Linz
Brazil	Curitiba, Florianopolis
Colombia	Bogotá, Popayán
Republic of Ireland	Dublin, Galway

References

Further reading and viewing

• Creative Cities Documentary
• Scott, Allen J. (2006) "Creative Cities: Conceptual Issues and Policy Questions", Journal of Urban Affairs, 28: 1–17.

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for UNESCO Creative Cities.

• Official website