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Entering a Knowledge Pearl in Times of Creative Cities Policy and Strategy. The Case of Groningen, Netherlands

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Inequalities in Creative Cities

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Abstract

This chapter argues that: (1) urban inequalities and injustices associated with creative urbanism, for example in terms of employment, income, or housing, are not always visible in the way typically associated with global cities and therefore require nuanced analysis; (2) the “creative cities” paradigm (as well as the contestatory right to the city framework or the just city debate) offers a powerful explanatory device for global neoliberal urbanism, including examples of “creativity orthodoxy” and the capitalist city in Amsterdam, and (3) Groningen in the northern region of The Netherlands provides a compelling case of hidden inequalities and the politics of urban development in what Gabe et al. (2012) and van Winden et al. (Urban Studies 44 (3):525–549, 2007) would term a “knowledge pearl” city.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Ibid.

  2. 2.

    (Ci)rcus), (Bo)dem en (Gas)terrain (CiBoGa), see: www.woneninhetebbingekwartier.nl/. Accessed 6 December 2015.

  3. 3.

    See: www.openlabebbinge.nl/english-project-description/. Accessed 6 December 2015.

  4. 4.

    The tension between social and/or economic return was discussed during our Let’s Gro event #087: Politics, inequalities and the creative city, which took place Friday 21 November 2014 at Het Concerthuis in the centre of Groningen. Let’s Gro was an inspiration festival, organized in collaboration with Municipality Groningen and University of Groningen.

  5. 5.

    See: www.openlabebbinge.nl/. Accessed 7 December 2015.

  6. 6.

    Frank Menger a politically active resident of Groningen stated during the Let’s event #87 (see footnote #4) that the perception of the Ebbingekwartier is divided: on the one hand it is recognizable, but on another level some people are simply unaware of it. Demonstrable positive effects, however, are thin on the ground at the moment.

  7. 7.

    The number of students in Groningen is over 50,000 and the figure for residents is in the region of 200,000 (see: http://groningen.buurtmonitor.nl/. Accessed 6 December 2015).

  8. 8.

    The RUG is the first Dutch university to open a branch campus in China. A collaborative effort with the China Agricultural University, Bei**g, means the establishment of a presence on campus in the city of Yantai. See: www.rug.nl/about-us/internationalization/branch-campus-yantai?lang=en. Accessed 7 December 2015.

  9. 9.

    See: www.cityoftalent.nl/en. Accessed 7 December 2015.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Justin Beaumont & Zemiattin Yildiz

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  1. Justin Beaumont
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  2. Zemiattin Yildiz
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  1. Geographisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

    Ulrike Gerhard

  2. Deutsche Universität für Verwaltungswissenschaften, Speyer, Germany

    Michael Hoelscher

  3. University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA

    David Wilson

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Beaumont, J., Yildiz, Z. (2017). Entering a Knowledge Pearl in Times of Creative Cities Policy and Strategy. The Case of Groningen, Netherlands. In: Gerhard, U., Hoelscher, M., Wilson, D. (eds) Inequalities in Creative Cities. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95115-4_8

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