“Rhetoric and Effects of Creative City Policymaking: Evidence and Reflections from Milan and beyond”

Since the 1990s Western countries have witnessed a significant change in their urban economic base, shifting from production of goods for mass consumption towards more and more specialized service provision. Since the early 2000s an increasing number of global and second or third tier cities have been promoting a wide array of policies under the same banner of the ‘creative city’, hinting at cultural, technological and innovative production. The academic and policy debate evolved around the economic and social rationale of the creative city and around the reasons why one city or region should embrace policymaking for the creative economy. Less attention has been paid to the symbolic aspects of such urban policy. This chapter studies in depth the case of the city of Milan, with reference to the design fashion industry. In particular, the issue of the creative city is seen under the lens of both cultural and industrial production, as well as in terms of urban policymaking and policy implementation. The case of Milan is investigated through the description of its background in creative and fashion production, the analysis of the socioeconomic aspects of this relevant sector, the exploration of one large-scale urban project that was originally meant to support the fashion industry, and the observation of a set of smaller initiatives. The chapter uses the case of Milan in order to show the distance between the representations of such cultural and creative policy and the actual implementation.