Culture and Creativity as drivers for sustainable and resilient cities

The concept of culture has many definitions and interpretations. In social settings, it is often used broadly to represent entire ways of life. Included in such ways of life are rules, values, and expected behaviors. In addition, the influence of culture and creativity on the local sustainable development in the recent decades gained a huge recognition. At its most basic level, culture can be seen as the shared products of a society. Culture is the general expression of humanity, the expression of its creativity. Culture is linked to meaning, knowledge, talents, industries, civilization and values. Furthermore Culture plays a key role in all societies around the world, influencing various facets of peoples' lives, from leisure to professional activities. The role of culture in development has also recently emerged as an important policy issue. Creativity is a powerful catch phrase. In Western societies it epitomizes success, the modern, trends for novelty and excitement. Whether linked to individuals, enterprises,cities or regions creativity establishes immediate empathy, and conveys an image of dynamism.