Cultural Districts, Tourism and Sustainability, in Murat Kasimoglu (ed.), Strategies for Tourism Industry - Micro and Macro Perspectives, Intech Open Science Open Minds, 2012

After having explored the various implications of the peculiar way cultural district can create value and spread it over the territory, we focus on the issue of the district "creation", which is essentially the main concern for policymakers. The problem is that districts cannot be created, as they are the result of a spontaneous process where local actors progressively develop a common vision, become aware of their territorial identity and discover their mutual interdependencies. Only a full immersion of local stakeholders in the "industrial atmosphere" and the accumulation of social capital can give policymakers a concrete chance of success. On the other hand, the cultural district requires also a strong governance by an authoritative leader, able to drive the change process and create the institutional conditions to facilitate the achievement of the mission.