Handbook of Creative Cities

One of the more exciting things that I’m involved in at this time is the planning and editing of a new book, entitled “Handbook of Creative Cities.” It is to be published by Edward Elgar in 2011 (hardcover) and 2013 (paperback). My co-editors are Charlotta Mellander and Ake Andersson, both of the Department of Economics at Jonkoping International Business School. Charlotta Mellander is a frequent traveler to Toronto, where she is doing research within projects initiated by Richard Florida (in fact, she is used as an example of a “creative class” mother in Florida’s latest book; “Who’s Your City”).

One of my aims as co-editor is to stimulate discussions about the roles of planning (both public and private) and markets in urban development, and how it may change with the emergence of post-industrial society. To this end, we have invited contributors with different theoretical perspectives, with a possible clash of ideas, which I would find very exciting.

While I don’t want to divulge the identities of the contributors yet, suffice it to say that they are a diverse and creative lot, and they represent the following creative or not so creative cities as residents: Chicago, Copenhagen, Jena, Jonkoping, Kaohsiung, Kyoto, London, Los Angeles, Milan, New York, San Francisco, Stockholm, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, and Wellington.