The Concept of a “Creative City”: Adaptation and Development in the Russian Context

The article presents the results of a study that conceptualizes the “creative city” within Russian urban development discourse. It reveals a shift in the semantics of cultural industries, as well as more intense problematization of the social consequences that go with developing the creative economy. Using a combined content analysis approach (bibliometric mapping of keyword co-occurrence and thematic coding), the study examines the concept’s applicability within the Russian academic environment. The analysis of 32 Russian publications (2010–2024, from the journals “Scopus” and “Higher Attestation Commission”) revealed three conceptual axes for applying the “creative city” concept (space, economy, people) and three hierarchical positions within theoretical models (embedded, equivalent, dominant). Their combination identified six metaphors of the “creative city” in Russian literature — ranging from a “showcase for the creative class” to a “collective agent of self-development” — whose evolution demonstrates a shift in the conceptualization of a city from a managed object to an active subject participating in the creative transformation of the environment. The study identified common features in both Russian and English-language discourses: ambivalent perceptions of the “creative class”, neoliberal critique, and a focus on unique local projects rather than universal forms of creativity. However, while international models predominantly emphasize urban economic development and global integration, Russian approaches focus on internal territorial resources and the potential for collective action.

creative city, creative class, social theory, systematic literary review, comparative research, conceptualization