Creative cities in Central and Eastern Europe – Examining the position of Győr from the creative and cultural aspects of this macro-region Dávid Fekete The European Union is paying increasing Széchenyi István University, more attention to the creative sector, ac- Hungary knowledging the economic significance of the E-mail:
[email protected] sphere and appreciating the social benefits of creative and cultural activities. Its latest inno- vation is the Cultural and Creative Cities Szabolcs Morvay Monitor (CCCM), which shows the creative Széchenyi István University, vibrancy of 168 European cities, thus enabling Hungary a comparison and ranking in terms of differ- E-mail:
[email protected] ent creative and cultural aspects. Győr has been included in this platform’s list besides Budapest, Pécs, and Szeged. In this study the creative position of Győr, in relation to similar mid-sized Central and Eastern European cities is examined, thus estimating the creative po- tential of Győr. The analysis enables us to ob- serve the elements and indicators of a creative city that are used to measure and show crea- tivity. Exploring the city’s strengths and weaknesses provides guidance as the CCCM annually renews its evaluation and changes the ranking. With conscious initiatives Győr may become more creative, both internationally and locally. Based on the CCCM scores Győr has numerous strengths: favourable geograph- ic location, adequate amount of cultural offer- ings, strong economic potential, cultural vi- brancy, and a high level of participation in cul- tural life. However, the city has weak features Keywords: too, that require strengthening. The aim is for creative cities, the cities to become more creative, but this culture, requires analysis from the creative and cultural urban development, aspects.