The Role of the Cultural and Creative Industries in Sustainable Development of Small Cities in Latvia
Sustainability 2022
Ieva Zemīte, Ilona Kunda, Ilze Judrupa

While sustainability is a much-researched issue, little has been written about the role of cultural and creative industries (CCIs) in implementing sustainable development, specifically in small cities. The authors pose the following questions: What is the interrelation between CCI practices and the four pillars of sustainability (economic, environmental, cultural, and social) in small cities? What are the practices that CCIs use, and which they perceive as contributions to sustainable development? The authors use a single case study strategy, methods including a theoretical study, a quantitative pilot survey, a focus group discussion, semi-structured interviews, and content analysis. Overall, the article indicates that there is a varied and diverse repertoire of small- and large-scale practices carried out by CCIs in small cities in Latvia, and thus contributes to the existing scholarly literature by “teasing out” those practices. The study indicates that each of the practices may contribute to two or more sustainability pillars, thus they are analyzed in pairs to find out what traits are reflected in these practices. Notably, CCI entrepreneurs believe that sustainable development is important and that they contribute to it.


Keywords
sustainability; small cities; cultural and creative industries; mixed methods
DOI
10.3390/su14159009
Hyperlink
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/15/9009

Zemīte, I., Kunda, I., Judrupa, I. The Role of the Cultural and Creative Industries in Sustainable Development of Small Cities in Latvia. Sustainability, 2022, Vol. 14, No. 15, Article number 9009. ISSN 2071-1050. Available from: doi:10.3390/su14159009

Publication language
English (en)
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