(cultural heritage, natural landscapes and resources, etc.), which may act as
development poles for their surrounding areas, and are seen as mediators between
the different territorial levels (rural/urban, local/global, centre/periphery). They are
observing a counter-urbanisation or urban exodus process — people move from
cities to live in rural areas, something in which the improvement of infrastructures,
telecommunications and transports has played a role — and diversifying their
economic base, focusing less on agricultural and primary activities and more on the
services sectors (EEA 2006).
SMSC, with their specific features that differentiate them from larger urban centres,
play an important role in the EU, its territorial system and economy. As pointed out
in the previous chapter, the scientific literature on culture-led development has mostly
focused on large cities and metropolises.Therefore, the analysis of the potential of
culture-led development in small and medium-sized needs to take into account their
specificities. Different scholars such as Bell and Jayne or Pradel i Miquel et. Al note
that the issue of city size should not be the only factor to be considered in this regard:
other aspects such as their position in the territorial system and in urban hierarchies,
interdependencies, networks, functions, etc., are also relevant and influence their
development (Bell and Jayne 2009).Without aiming at being exhaustive, the section
below presents an overview of relevant factors that contribute to attract creative
people and professionals to SMSC and to take full advantage of their specificities.
2.4.2 Specificities of small and medium-sized cities
An appropriate environment for creativity to flourish
Small and medium-size cities feature a favourable framework to attract creative
people and develop artistic initiatives.To begin with, the unique natural and cultural
heritage and identity stands out as one of their main strengths.
The cultural and symbolic assets that are at the very heart of SMSC can be a factor
for SMSC to capitalise on: they can help to confer an “aura” to the cultural and
creative products that are produced in them.
Other advantages result from comparison with large cities and metropolises, in
contrast to the negative features found (Van Heur 2011, INTELI 2011, Selada 2012,
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AiR Delft Op Zicht 2013
