The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of the sustainability transition and revealed one special aspect of our societies: The creative and cultural industries are the worst-hit sectors of the economy, although it has long been argued in the theories of the "creative city" to play a key role in finding creative solutions for cities, promoting cultural interaction and developing the urban economy.
The Urban Studies Foundation has awarded a grant to organize an international European Creative Cities & Covid-19 seminar series run by the University of Helsinki together with the University of Dundee (Scotland), the Gran Sasso Science Institute (Italy) and the Fondazione Pistoletta Cittadellaarte Biella (Italy). The aim of the seminar series is to come together to discuss the impact of the Covid-19 on creative economies in European cities and the future of the creative city. The roundtable discussions will address the following issues:
- What impact has Covid-19 had on the city’s creative economies?
- What alternative forms of creativity and urban interaction emerged during pandemic?
- What local opportunities are there for the sustainable and inclusive (re)development and how can this be supported by policy?
The seminar series serves as a basis to an interdisciplinary international publication on the topic. The first seminar will take place in Dundee (Scotland) in June 2021, the second in L'Aquila (Italy) in September 2021, the third in Helsinki in December 2021 and the fourth in Biella (Italy) in June 2022. More information about the seminar series and its organizers can be found here. You can also follow the discussion in twitter with the keyword @CreativeCityC19.
More information
Professor Sami Moisio, University of Helsinki
sami.moisio@helsinki.fi