Urban Design and the Consideration of Place Attachment in Promoting Creativity within the City. A Case Study of the Creative District Zurich West

The city is experienced as a web of place and space, with the most diverse agents and activities. Attachment results from the interplay of the material environment, subjective perceptions and collective experiences. In an urban context and in the case of creative work, the cityscape is setting the framework conditions. Creativity is seen as a major catalyst for urban development. Diverse sectors and employment opportunities of the creative industries challenge spatial conditions of urban design. Thereby, attachment to place decisively influences the transformation of space over time. In the case of creative activities, the development of creative districts is found to be related to conducive and affordable spatial conditions paired with a lively exchange and social stimulation for creative communities. This study is concerned with the role of urban design in the promotion of creativity and to what extent place attachment is considered in those endeavours. As a case study, the urban area of Zurich West is studied in detail and complemented by insights from in-depth interviews of experts from the fields of urban design. As the discovery and thus meaning of place is already part of the creative process, the roles and responsibilities in urban design are manifold and understood to facilitate creative initiative rather than enabling it. Without neglecting issues of gentrification and commercialisation associated with creative districts, these valuable inputs are found to be first and foremost part of dynamic and unplannable developments. The co-existence of other economic branches has further implications on the urban spatial organisation and value adding intersections with the creative industries. With wide stakeholder inclusion and alignment of administrative responsibilities, urban design is considered an important structure not only with regards to the promotion of creativity within the city but also welfare in economic and socio-cultural terms.