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

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

3. Involving, in each city… Researchers Creative People Policy Makers

4. 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?

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

6. 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

7. Contact the ACRE project team Julie Brown 0121 414 2237 j.brown.1@bham.ac.uk http://www2.fmg.uva.nl/acre