Creative Industries in City Spaces: The Case of Art in Public Places

Abstract

This paper explores the impact of creative cultural industries on urban spaces, focusing particularly on public art and its role in shaping the quality of the urban realm. It presents preliminary findings on how art and artists contribute to the formation and transformation of public spaces in cities. The discussion situates these impacts within broader critiques of modernist planning, which often produced placeless and segregated environments. By contrast, public art and creative industries are shown as contributing to more liveable, distinctive, and culturally rooted city spaces, reinforcing both local identity and residents’ quality of life.