- Creative Hot-spots by Urban Diversity    250 kb by    Van den Busken, Sybren | sbusken@centrum.amsterdam.nl    Short Outline Analysis of conditions for creative hot-spots (places of interaction between creative people). The experience with the specific Amsterdam situation is used in order to come to general conclusions, based on the analysis two successful creative places in the city. Main conclusions are that a broad diversity of urban places must exist on the scale of the agglomeration and that it means a stimulating, but more abstinent role of the government. Abstract Creative Hot-spots by Urban Diversity According Richard Florida the Amsterdam region scores high on the creativity index based on the three T’s: talent, tolerance and technology. These conditions provide a climate that attract the creative class. Concerning the city as place for living, the creative class is looking for places where they can be together. Two clear examples of these so-called hot-spots are: ‘De Pijp’, a gentrificated neighbourhood and ‘NDSM-wharf’ a up-coming centre of creative production. Both ran through development stages with different creative scenes. Because of their own success they change. This means no problem as long as there are within the agglomeration various districts in different stages of the development-process. In order to keep up to the demands of the various creative scenes the city must offer diversity in “urbatopes” (like biotopes): the physical and social environment of place. Due to a long history and a fairly steady growth, Amsterdam still offers this diversity. Maintaining this variety means conservation of authentic districts at the one hand but at the other it sometimes requires a strategy of abstinence. Governments have to know what not to regulate. Concerning working places for creatives, leftover terrains like old industrial zones, form ideal places for creative pioneers. Some of these zones have to spared from urban planning and be reserved for bottom-up initiatives. Main conclusions are: - Hot-spots change due to their own succes. The pioneer scene will shift to new decayed places. - It’s on the scale of the urban agglomeration that the creative challenge has to be met and diversity has to be viewed. - Diversity is not always reached by action of government but also by an abstinent attitude to creative hot-spots Keywords conditions for creative hot-spots Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2005: Making Spaces for the Creative Economy   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper