Roberto Grandi a SCE 2012

Intervento di Roberto Grandi

Al convegno

[lb.05] Smart City: il ruolo della creatività e dell'industria creativa / Smart City: the role of

creativity and of the creative industries

Di Martedì 30 ottobre 2012 Consulta il programma di SCE2012

ALMA MATER STUDIORUM – UNIVERSITA’ DI BOLOGNA

Materiale riservato e strettamente confidenziale

Roberto Grandi

Smart City: the role of creativity and of the creative industries

Smart City ExhibitionBologna October 30 2012

Copyright©2003 - Materiale riservato e strettamente confidenziale

1 Globalitation and the Crisis of the UrbanDevelopment Models. Factors:

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The response of the cities has developed on several level

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Creativity

The concept of creativity has been considered in recent years more and more important in different fields.

The European Union has declared 2009, European Year of Creativity and Innovation. The objective of the year was:

“to promote creativity for all as a driver for innovation and as a key factor for the development of personal, occupational, entrepreneurial and

social competences through lifelong learning”

Until neurobiology and psychology reveal the physical mechanisms (brain and body, mind and emotions) of the production of creativity, we cannot rely on a general theory of creativity.

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Creativity related to:

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Creativity

For practical purposes we will refer to creativity as a process and to its dependence on emotions and the outside environment.

I will highlight two characteristics:

the alternative to instrumental thinking

a capacity for problem-solving.

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Creativity as an alternative to instrumental thinking

Charles Landry and Franco Bianchini (The Creative City) considered creativity as

an alternative to instrumental thinking:

“genuine creativity involves thinking a problem afresh and from first

principles; experimentation; originality; the capacity to rewrite rules; to

be unconventional; to discover common threads amid the seemingly

disparate; to look at situation latterly and with flexibility”.

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Creativity as a capacity for problem-solving

For the Nobel prize winner for economics Herbert Simon creativity basically lies in the capacity to solve problems.

"Acts are judged to be creative when they produce something that is noveland that is thought to be interesting or to have social value. Interesting or valuable novelty is the touchstone of the creative" .

This definition has the advantage of describing a process or a procedure involved in producing creativity.

In fact, according to Simon to be creative, a person must

be trained, have expertise, and know how take risks;

and these objectives can be reached through the tacit or explicittransmission of knowledge.

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The creative environment

If creativity is a fundamental resource for post-modern society, which needsgrowing intellectual capital to face up to the challenge of the knowledge

society, the question arises:

can we produce creativity?

The creative process is strongly influenced by the cultural milieu in which it develops.

This is the key to the production of creativity.

In fact, the freer and more interdisciplinary and stimulating a cultural environment (school or community) is,

the greater the production of creativity and talent.

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The creative milieu as a precondition of creative cities

“A creative milieu is a place – either a cluster of buildings, a part of a

city, a city as a whole or a region – that contains the necessary

preconditions in terms of a ‘hard’ and ‘soft‘ infrastructure to generate a

flow of ideas and inventions. Such a milieu is a physical setting where

a critical mass of entrepreneurs, intellectuals, social activists, artists,

administrators, power brokers or students can operate in an open-

minded, cosmopolitan context and where face-to-face interaction

creates new ideas, artefacts, products, services and institutions and as

a consequence contributes to economic success.” (Laundry)

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I milieu creativi sono caratterizzati da:

Elevato capitale intellettuale e sociale/relazionale

Tessuto imprenditoriale innovativo, base finanziaria (venture capital) adeguata, regolamenti non rigidi e burocratizzati

Classe creativa

Consumi evoluti legati ad attività creative, ricreative e culturali.

Ambiente multidisciplinare e sinergicamente dinamico

Instabilità strutturale

Varietà e convivenza di culture e stili di vita diversi.

Forte apertura culturale


The risks of creative cities

To set up a process of gentrification

‘Banalisation’, of urban experiences thus undermining the distinctive creative potential of a place

Creative divide


How to avoid the risks: multidimensional strategiesand balance

The harmonious growth of a city often requires multidimensional strategies which begin from or move on from its attractiveness, followed or accompanied, however, by other measures to encourage processes of social inclusion and capability building .

To introduce social inclusion and capability building can avoid the creative gentrification of the city ending up transforming it into a ghetto for the rich.

The challenge of creative cities, therefore, is to find a balance which, on one hand, supports development and the acknowledgement of creative forms,

the value of culture and its exploitation, but on the other

guarantees the conditions for the continuous regeneration of the “creative” urban ecosystem made up of diversity and crossovers.

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How to avoid the risks: cultural, social, political, economic creativity

Creativity, which constitutes a fundamental aspect of artistic production, must be gradually extended from the cultural industry to other areas of the territory’s social, political and economic life.

Today in the various fields of human activity - from the economic to the social sphere, from culture to politics, from urban planning to training -new problems constantly emerge that cannot be dealt with merely by following routine procedures or conventional means.

For this reason, creativity (with its dual meaning as an alternative to instrumental thinking and as problem-solving) must be adopted by those in charge of the decision-making processes.

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How to avoid the risks: Civic Creativity

This widespread creativity takes the form of a civic creativity

This new way of facing the challenges of 21st Century cities can only be implemented if it is a common objective shared by both the citizens, on one hand, and the public and private institutions and organisations on the other.

The city “sets up a system” where everyone relinquishes just a little of their individual, associative or corporate selfishness and regains a sense of community

Only then can it become a development plan and, at the same time, a strong and identifying character within and without the city.

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Roberto Grandi a SCE 2012