Much of the literature around notions of the ’creative class’ and the ‘creative city’ has placed artists as a central, typical creative group. However, that literature has often placed artists in a conceptual dichotomy - either they are seen as uncritical champions of creative city policy (because it boosts their profile and markets) or they are placed in radical opposition to it. This paper explores the attitudes of a sample of artists in Stockholm, Sweden to open this dichotomy up to a more nuanced critique. The analysis considers the diversity of views, attitudes and perceptions of these artists towards creative city policy. While opposition and resistance to the application of creative city policy can certainly be found, the paper seeks to move beyond this to examine how the lack of accord between creative producers and policy-makers can be the outcome of more mundane, everyday practices. In addition, artists join together in specific projects and loose, ephemeral networks to address the issues surrounding the implementation of creative city policy in ways which oppose it but also seek alternatives through engaging planners and the public. Overall the paper calls for an understanding of artists which goes beyond the enthusiast/opponent dichotomy towards developing an understanding of the diverse range of artist responses and engagement with creative city policy.

In this paper we trace the co-evolution of a set of industries and supporting institutions in the Film and television (TV) industry in one of Europe’s most peripheral regions. It is a comprehensive overview of the key stages of development, from inception to sustainability with key roles enacted by a diverse set of actors, from community activists to the current Irish President. This work contributes to the growing literature that is focussing attention on the growth of creative economy activity beyond the city. We pay particular attention to the role played by firms, institutions and geography and their co-evolution towards a cluster of cultural activity in Galway, Ireland.

This research is on planning and managing of the cities for an improved urban life quality and it shows a novelty when it is investigating indicators of the life quality and urban planning outcomes jointly. This paper presumes that the improvement of life quality indicators will progress the urban planning and management outcomes mutually. It reviews the literature to exhibit an overall picture of association between urban planning and urban quality of life. The purpose of the study is to assess the weight scores of the life quality indicators with the use of classic methods. The paper finds various score numbers for the life quality in 26 districts of Maragheh regarding the rate of urban development in each neighborhood and shows how the indicators of the life quality vary values and efficiency in different urban neighborhoods. The results show a positive correlation between the indicators of the life quality and the level of success in urban planning and development. In another word, this study contributes to improve the life quality and urban planning jointly in the underdeveloped cities. The model of life quality-oriented urban planning is applicable in any city similar to the situation of Maragheh city.