Creativity and Sustainable UrbanRegeneration:Rethinking Cities for Cultural Tourism

The creative city is a city able to generate economies of innovation, culture, research and artistic production, and strengthen its own identity capital. In this respect, the enhancement of urban waterfronts is increasingly becoming a starting point for activating innovative urban redevelopment strategies which involve not only the waterfront but also the whole urban area. Two main types of cluster may be recognized within urban waterfronts. The first comprises cultural clusters, whose start-up is encouraged and planned by local administration. The second is the cluster of events, whose development originates in the organization of great events or different kinds of recreational and cultural activities. Starting from such premises, this paper explores the concept of the creative city, the factors conditioning creativity in cities and how they stimulate urban innovation and local development. Two emblematic examples of creative urban waterfronts are illustrated, where place identity, involvement of the population and sustainability of interventions are the main elements to be considered both for sustainable urban regeneration and cultural tourism.