Knowledge Cities, Creative Industries and Urban Development

Why are cultural and creative industries in times of globalization and structural economic change, so important for the competitiveness of cities around the world? Why did they become an indispensable segment of local economies? Why do they matter so much for the attractiveness of cities for citizens? Is the political attention to creative industries and creative cities just a mayfly phenomenon? Is it worthwhile to invest money, time and efforts in this newly discovered segment of the local economy?

Though creative and cultural industries are well defined since they receive more political and professional attention, the perception of the nature and the significance of creative and cultural industries still differ in the cultural community and among urban economists and planners. However, the economic fragility of the sector is still underrated.

Prof. Kunzmann has published 12 books, mainly in the field of regional restructuring and cultural industries. He has written numerous chapters in edited books published in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK, the US and Italy. He frequently publishes in refereed international journals, in German, English and Italian. This year, he co-edited a book on the implications of the economic growth of China on European space. As an artist, he has explored and sketched urban transition processes in many cities around the world, and shown his artwork in exhibitions in the US, in Portugal and in Germany. http://europe-and-china.info/

Venue : Poon Kam Kai Institute of Management, HKU, 3/F, Tower II,
Admiralty Centre, 18 Harcourt Road, Lecture theatre B13
Date : 29 May 2010
Agenda : 10:00-12:30 a.m. Lecture and Discussion
Fee : HK$250, HK$150 for NGO participants (on request); cash or by cheque
(payable to the Hong Kong Foresight Centre)
Enquiry: Phone: 3114-0784 Registration by email: info@hkforesight.org
Organized by: Hong Kong Foresight Centre
Supported by: Community Development Initiative and Asia Pacific Intellectual Capital Centre