Strategic Planning to Achieve a Creative City (Case Study: Ardabil City)

Document Type : Origional Article

Authors

1 Ph.D Candidate in Geography and Urban Planning, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.

2 Department of Geography & Urban and Rural Planning, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Faculty of Social Sciences, Ardabil, Iran.

Abstract
Background and Aim: Urban creativity is one of the main drivers for achieving sustainable development. This requires having creative industries, creative employees, creative knowledge, and cultural richness. The present study was conducted with the aim of strategic planning to achieve a creative city in Ardabil.
Methodology: The present study is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of method. The data collection method is library-survey. Based on the creative city indicators and the collected data, 34 strategies for achieving a creative city were divided into five main criteria (people, economic enterprises, urban spaces, connections and communications, and city vision and reputation), and to determine their importance (opinions of 50 experts), structural equation testing was used in SMART-PLS software.
Results and Discussion: The results showed that the economic enterprises criterion (factor loading 0.937), the people criterion (factor loading 0.936), the urban spaces criterion (factor loading 0.918), the linkages and communications criterion (factor loading 0.896), and the city vision and reputation criterion (factor loading 0.875) are the best strategies for achieving a creative city. Also, among the economic enterprises criterion, specialized support for creative businesses (factor load 0.87), among the people criterion, developing creative capacity at all levels of general education (factor load 0.85), among the urban spaces criterion, creating stable and secure spaces for cultural and artistic activities (factor load 0.76), among the linkage and communications criterion, providing virtual infrastructures and facilitating electronic communications (factor load 0.82), and among the city's vision and reputation criterion, planning to enhance the city's regional and supra-regional position and facilitating the presence of tourists (factor load 0.83) are the most important strategies for achieving a creative city in Ardabil.

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Subjects


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Volume 7, Issue 2 - Serial Number 24
Summer 2026
Pages 117-128

  • Receive Date 16 February 2025
  • Revise Date 22 February 2025
  • Accept Date 26 May 2025
  • First Publish Date 27 May 2025
  • Publish Date 23 August 2026