Last night, creative city making champion Charles Landry spoke to a packed house. I had the pleasure of being in the audience along with most of the usual suspects (govt., real estate development, business, downtownies, a few artists & SCAD folk) . . . you were probably there too. He was worth standing up for, even if my feet are paying the price today.

For those of you who couldn’t make it, I’ll briefly summarize. Landry defines creative cities as those in which ordinary people (along with their local bureaucracies) solve problems (or rather, create opportunities) in imaginative ways.

I really appreciated his notion that creative cities strive not to be the best in the world, but the best for the world.

Creative cities are made deliberately; they require inclusion, collaboration, motivation, public places, respect of history & culture, openness (open to difference, change, ideas, emotions), holistic thinking, ownership (as in, this is my town and I’m responsible for what goes on in it), bravery, values and imagination. Imagination is key.  I wonder if Charles Landry likes Spongebob as much as I do.

“I-ma-gin-aaaaaaaaaaa-tion!”

What did ya’ll think?