> Hi Guy and others
>
> As you suggest, this is a kind of emerging theme in the UK based on
the outcomes of a government working party some years ago. Several areas
- often those in need of industrial regeneration - are now investing in
the development of creative industries. At Staffordshire University we
are involved in such initiatives via an umbrella group called the North
Staffordshire Design Initiative and including projects entitled
'Different by Design', Creative Network and Ceramics Industry Forum
(although this gets DTI funds).
>
> My own area of design research is design learning - how businesses and
the people in them learn about design. A particular feature of this work
is understanding the role of networks in the context of small and medium
sized occupational communities and emerging businesses. Networks offer
support as and when it is needed and at low cost. They also offer
essential social conduits for the transmission and building of values -
important where tacit knowledge is central to the activity and where
issues like learning and entrepreneurial cultures are concerned.
>
> However, to be able to introduce and disseminate information and
innovation effectively, networks have to have particular
characteristics. I have expertise in a specific research method called
social network analysis which allows the investigation of networks to
establish their potential for exchange and the introduction of
innovation. I had two preliminary papers published last year on this
subject (Ashton 2003, Ashton & Johnstone 2003) and two more are coming
out this year which report more specifically on the local networks
described above.
>
> In case anyone doubts the importance of networks in this context,
there is some very interesting work undertaken by Brown and Duguid
(2002) that specifically looks at Silicon valley and where they conclude
that while this community has the capability to connect themselves
virtually, the participants actually want to be there. Sure the
Californian lifestyle contributes to this (as Guy has suggested), but
the need for local social capital is also a driver. Lam(2000) provides a
useful conceptual framework for the idea of industrial communities.
>
> Whilst Guy's posted contribution to this area is rather anecdotal,
there is some serious research going on out there to assist such
initiatives.
>
> Dr Philippa Ashton
> Research and Enterprise Co-ordinator
> Design Programme
> Staffordshire University
> UK
>
> and
>
>
> Senior Research Fellow
> University for the Arts, London
> (formerly London Institute)
>
>
>
>
> Ashton, P (2000) Social Processes in Design Learning. Published in
proceedings of Reinventing Design Education in the University, Perth,
Australia
>
> Ashton, P (2001) Social Capital for Design Innovation and Integration.
Designing in Context  Eds Lloyd.P and Christiaans. H. Delft University
Press, Netherlands
>
> Ashton, P and Johnstone, I (2003) Transforming Design Consultancy
Through Learning. Design Management Journal. Summer
>
> Ashton, P (2003) Mechanisms for Learning in UK Design Consultancies.
5th Conference of European Academy of Design. Barcelona.
>
> Brown, J and Duguid, P (2002) Local Knowledge. Innovation in the
Networked Age. Management Learning. Vol 33 No4.
>
> Lam, A (2000) Tacit Knowledge, Organizational Learning and Social
Institutions: An Integrated Framework. Organizational Studies 21 (3)
>
>
>
> ----------
> From:         Julier, Guy [HES]
> Reply To:     Julier, Guy [HES]
> Sent:         Wednesday, February 11, 2004 8:38 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Re: IADE's Genie of The Lamp - Design Distict in Lisbon
>
> Dear all
>
> I hope it is a Genie of the Lamp and not a poisoned chalice.  I'm not
going
> to presume to know what this project could do with.  But let me sound
off on
> one of my pet subjects!
>
> There has been something of a fever in the UK for establishing
'creative>
> encouraged within urban regeneration plans although these often build
on
> pre-existing trends.
>
> The story goes like this.  Designers typically look for low rent
> accomodation. (Interestingly this is often found in former 'red light'
> districts!  ...The oldest trade being replaced by one of the newer
trades,
> but bearing some similarities sometimes!).  They, and other creative
> industries such as artists, craftspeople, record labels, cluster into
these
> zones.  Cafes and bars begin to appear.  The district becomes a
popular
> place to hang out.  Property developers see the opportunities of a
district
> that has a cool reputation.  They move in and buy up everything
available.
> Property prices are pushed up.  Designers, craftspeople, artists who
> originally created the ambience can't afford the rising rents.  They
are
> forced to move on and the cycle begins again.
>
> This has happened to some degree in London's Hoxton, where many lower
> capitalized and more interesting design consultancies have gradually
moved
> further east and north.  In Manchester's 'Northern Quarter' the
situation
> seems to be delicate.  There the property developers are just
beginning to
> realise what effects they have on the delicate ecology of creatives
there.
> In Leeds, some artists and sculptors studios have been forced out from
their
> riverside base by the same process.
>
> It is an old story already documented very well in New York by Sharon
Zukin
> and David Harvey (1990) in 'Loft Living:  Culture and Capital in Urban
> Change'.
>
> In the UK some of the cultural planning consultancies who influence
regional
> government policy (I'm not mentioning any names) persist in painting a
> picture of creative quarters in terms such as 'European 24-hour
living' and
> 'overlapping of production and consumption'.  To some degree I think
they
> are right.  These areas are great places to hang out in and do provide
a
> seedbed for the clustering of interdependent, transaction rich
> micro-industries, beloved of Michael Porter.  But don't get carried
away by
> the romanticism until you've read the contracts very carefully!
>
> Probably by embedding a design school at the centre, this process of
> gentrification will be avoided in your case.  I hope so.
>
> Good luck!
>
> guy
>
>
> Professor Guy Julier PhD MA(RCA)
> The Leeds School of Art, Architecture and Design
> Leeds Metropolitan University
> Calverley Street
> Leeds LS1 3HE, UK
>
> www.leedsmet.ac.uk/hen/aad/designculture.htm
>
>

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