Beyond the hype: Creative city development in Rotterdam

Abstract

The 'proselytisation' of many urban policy makers to the creative city thesis is often looked upon as a hype, as something momentary. This raises the question of whether this thesis has any long-term value. This paper reflects on this value from a local policy perspective. It first presents key elements — success factors — of the creative city, as emphasised by several authors, and evaluates the extent to which these can be applied in local policies. Next, it analyses their application in practice in the case of Rotterdam, a city struggling with adjustment to the post-industrial transformation. By assessing this case against the background of the listed success factors, the paper concludes with some implications for the thesis in urban (re)development policy. First and foremost, the thesis appears to have long-term value, but only if local policy builds on the historically developed unique particularities of the city and considers the creative sector in relation to the broader urban economy rather than as distinctive clusters.