Navigation
- Home
- Institution of European Capitals of Culture
- ECoCs contributions to Europe connected through culture
- Europe under construction
- EU Commission
- Candidate cities
- Imprint
Impact assessment of the bid
Of interest is that the Guardian reported on June 10, 2003 that an economic impact assessment has been made study of Liverpool's bid. (1) In this study is clearly outlined the linkage between city branding, cultural and creative industries, and use of talents to substantiate the key brand that Liverpool is a 'city of creativity'.
Consequently one key understanding of the bid comes across when the study picks up the theme of 'regeneration':
This redefinition of cultural investment (not to be taken literally as investment in culture) comes well before the European Commission publishes the KEA Study as to what value culture has for the economy. It can be said, therefore, that Liverpool's bid was well advanced in rethinking the role culture can play in the economy of a city. It may even mean redefining the base of the economy as being a cultural one especially if communication and other elements are included. All the more needs to be noted that the bid of Liverpool raises the spectrum of the cultural capacity of a city - in contrast to the usual assessments made of the industrial or economic capacity to sustain a certain level of productivity and degree of activity. It highlights an interrelationship between a modernised economic thinking and a quest to harrass culture as a potential power for the sake of not necessarily the growth of the city but of the economy. The blue print for that is laid out in the sense of capacity of competitiveness.
It is argued in the study that "the concept of ‘drawing power’ provides a methodology for assessing the links between culture and competitiveness" (See: The Role of Core Cities in Creating Prosperous Regions: Critical Mass in Sport and Culture for Competitive Advantage, Comedia, Draft November 2002). Here the study mentions the use of hard and soft indicators to assess "the dynamics of the city in terms of being able to attract people, new investments, capacity to develop new ideas, as all of this is believed to be what creates ultimately 'wealth'. For further understanding, emphasis has to be put on this concept of 'drawing power' as it links up with the key prerequisite of steering any economy in terms of 'purchasing power'. Governance is subsequently extended through culture over the economy while the latter utlizes the creativity or talents of the people activitated as a result not necessarily only by reason, but by force of attraction. The latter has been developed further and enhanced to draft the bid of Wroclaw 2016 by Adam Chmielewski. (3)
In wishing to define the characteristics of a competitive city, the study cites here a study by the OECD which has funnily enough the title 'City for Citizens', funny because the very concept has everything to do with a specific type of economy, and very little with the question if such an economy allows people time and space for any kind of meaningful interaction and creation of long lasting relationships i.e. sound families. Liverpool is known for not only derelict areas but a hard core gang culture which typifies the spaces left for seeking an alternative to otherwise dismal prospects to lead a decent life.
Characteristics of a competitive city according to the OECD (4):
• Economic diversity in the manufacturing and services sector.
• A supply of skilled human capital. The successful cities and regions will be those that
have the people who can operate effectively in ‘the knowledge and information based’
industries.
• The right institutional networks. A range of links between higher education, research
institutions, private industry and government.
• The right environment. Cities are for living in as well as working in. This means the right
physical, social, and cultural environment. Economic prosperity cannot be sustained on a
sea of vast inequality.
• Good communications. Partly this means physical communications – roads, airports,
railroad links, electronic communications. But communications is also cultural. This
underlines the importance of international networking.
• The institutional capacity to mobilize public, private and community resources and in the
long term to deliver agreed economic and social strategies
1. Report Liverpool European Capital of Culture 2008
« Learning from other ECoC cities | Presentation by Bill Chambers at ECCM Symposium "Productivity of Culture", Athens 2007 »