Accommodating Creative Knowledge Competitiveness in European metropolitan regions Centre for Urban and Regional Studies University of Birmingham

ACRE is… International European research project Over 4 years Creative and knowledge intensive industries 13 EU cities as cases and comparisons Policy oriented

Involving, in each city… Researchers Creative People Policy Makers

Questions… How do cities attract companies, investments, and talents? Creating ‘business climate’, or ‘people climate’ (or both)? Can creative cities be created ‘out of thin air’? Have ‘soft’ factors really become more important than ‘hard’ factors? Are there differences within Europe?

What we are doing…  Surveys  Graduates  Workers  Trans-national migrants  Interviews with managers  Assessment of competitiveness strategies  Policy recommendations

Why are you located in Birmingham? Is Birmingham a good place to live? Is Birmingham a good place to base a business? What about your neighbourhood? Do you think Birmingham is a creative city? We need you! ACRE

Contact the ACRE project team Julie Brown