Innovation in the centres of smaller cities to retain local custom and to attract businesses and create employment

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Centres of smaller cities offer environments that attract people to work, visit & live. People spend their free time there and build up emotional connections with the place. In previous eras the catchment population depended on their city centres for work, social, cultural and commercial activity. Today, as connectivity and mobility of the population increased, city centres have to meet several key challenges in order to survive and thrive. The above trends are accentuated in smaller cities, whose centres have deteriorated considerably over the past decade. In particular, smaller cities located in commuting distance to large cities or to more developed countries are affected by specific challenges. Municipalities find themselves in the frontline to play an increased role in supporting the revival of their cities. The challenge includes re-examining spaces available in the city centres for new forms of retail (e.g. omni-channel shopping), work (e.g. start-ups, open innovation) and culture (e.g. creative zones), to nurture environments leading to creative eco-systems and place-led initiatives and community events. The wider scope of of the project is to include more creative and place-led initiatives that stimulate change and innovation in the city centres of smaller cities located in the shadow of larger cities by addressing some specific aspects in terms of thematic challenges (retail, work and creative enterprise) and place-led & more collaborative governance approaches.

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