This is the first title in a series of short publications that seek to encapsulate key agendas and thought  movements that shape cities today and which will have an impact on their future.

The city faces an escalating crisis that cannot be solved by a business as usual approach. Complex  problems including the challenge of living together with great diversity and difference, addressing the  sustainability agenda or global financial crisis are some of the future priorities for creativity. In The  Origins & Futures of the Creative City, Charles Landry states that curiosity, imagination and creativity  are the pre-conditions for inventions and innovations to develop, as well as to solve, intractable urban  problems and to create interesting opportunities. Unleashing the creativity of citizens, organizations and the city is an empowering process. It is a new form of capital and a currency in its own right.