European cities are contributing to the development of a more sustainable urban system that is capable of coping with economic crises, ecological challenges and social disparities in different nation-states and regions throughout Europe.
This book reveals in a pluralistic way how European cities are generating new approaches to their sustainable development, and the special contribution of culture to these processes. It addresses both a deficit of attention to small and medium-sized cities in the framework of European sustainable development, and an underestimation of the role of culture, artistic expression and creativity for integrated development of the city as a prerequisite to urban sustainability. On the basis of a broad collection of case studies throughout Europe, representing a variety of regionally specific cultural models of sustainable development, the book investigates how participative culture, community arts, and more generally, creativity of civic imagination are conducive to the goal of a sustainable future of small and medium-sized cities.
This is an essential volume for researchers and postgraduate students in urban studies, cultural studies, cultural geography and urban sociology as well as for policymakers and practitioners wanting to understand the specificity of European cities as hubs of innovation, creativity and artistic industriousness.
About the Author: Svetlana Hristova is Associate Professor in Sociology of Culture and Cultural Anthropology at the Faculty of Arts in the South-West University in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, and Chair of the ENCATC Thematic Area "Urban Management and Cultural Policies of City."
Milena Dragicevic Sesic
is Head of UNESCO Chair in Interculturalism, Art Management and Mediation, and Professor of Cultural Policy and Cultural Management, Cultural Studies, and Media Studies at the University of Arts, Belgrade, Serbia.
Nancy Duxbury is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal, and Co-Coordinator of its Cities, Cultures and Architecture Research Group. She is also Adjunct Professor of the School of Communication, Simon Fraser University, Canada.
