Essay Questions(draft)

Posted: April 3rd, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | No Comments »

It sounds beautiful: whose paradises in the coming HOPSCA Time in Ningbo?-A comparative study of key HOPSCA Projects in Ningbo

This is the initial thought on the topic.  As HPSCA becomes more focus in urban development from the government to property developers, to small investors and consumers who with lovely and high expectations by the propaganda, it’s to be tested that does this all-in-one model serve well the newly forming communities around?

To be developed…


Documentary Summary: Changes of Our Understanding of Creative Industry

Posted: May 22nd, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: creative industries, video | Tags: , , | Comments Off on Documentary Summary: Changes of Our Understanding of Creative Industry

My document is not about the specific contents of creative industry but about the change of our comprehension of it. Actually, by discussing in the classes and researching in the field, our understanding of creative industry has undergone conversations from narrow ones to comprehensive ones.

At the beginning of the course, we totally cannot find the relationship between creative industry and other areas, like real-estate, waste industry and maritime industry. Our understanding of creative industry was limited to the field of design. In our established thinking, creation always related to the production design, and the creative industry was merely lots of creative companies gathered in industrial parks or lofts. By directing with these thought, we chose creative industry parks in Shanghai and Loft 8 in Ningbo as our first places for researching. We wanted to study the present conditions and future development trends by comparing the differences of creative industry in these two cities.

The research in Shanghai offered us other angles of vision about creative industry. We began to know that both the words of ‘creative’ and ‘industry’ should be paid more attentions when we researched in Ningbo. So, we took an interview with a scholar in the office of creative industry in Technology University in Ningbo. By talking with the experts, on one hand, we got information of the condition of creative industry in Ningbo. On the other hand, we found that Chinese scholars may notice the relationship between creative industry and culture, but ignore the position of creative industry in the whole urban network.

After getting knowledge from the classes and seminars, we began to think about the position of creative industry in urban network, and do field work in relevant industries, such as waste industry and maritime industry, which are the important parts of urban network. Latter we have done an interview with the president of creative industry association of Ningbo. He introduced the whole development modes of creative industry in Ningbo. And he also mentioned other problems closely related to the development of creative industry, such as the increase of house estate prices and the construction of supporting facilities of creative industry, although he did not explain deeply. With his comprehensive introduce and our field works in different areas related to the creative industry, our understanding of creative industry is no longer as limited as before.

In conclusion, Ningbo has owned its development modes of creative industry. Under the government’s plan, creative industry areas and their supporting facilities are also established. However, in this stage, because of a lack of a whole industry chain, the positioning of creative industry in Ningbo is considered as to serve the foreign trade and manufacturing industry, and to be the venturing bases of creative industry itself. Like other cities in China, the development of creative industry leads some problems. For example, the prices of house located near the creative industry parks increases and more waste brought from creative industry need to be disposed scientifically.

There are many more problems related to the creative industry in Ningbo. So, more studies should be done by researchers who are interested in this topic in the future.

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Some Notes According to Keane(2009) etc.

Posted: May 6th, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: creative industries, real-estate | Tags: | No Comments »

Keane (2009) believes that in China, creative industry park could divide into three types.

First of all, some creative industry parks close to the university. On one hand, they can anticipate the reputation of university to enhance creative park popularity. On the other hand, they can rely on creative talent and knowledge in college or university to improve quality of creative products. In Ningbo, the Innovation Valley is exactly a good case. In 2009, Innovation Valley and five surrounding universities such as Ningbo University and Ningbo Engineering College etc had signed contracts with Innovation Valley .Later they will develop their wisdom to Innovation Valley.


The second mode is the most common pattern and it is to preserve the old factory. To some extent, it has not only retained historical building, but also stimulated the imagination of artists. For example, Loft 8 in Ningbo was Ningbo Fangxiang Factory before.238 Creative Park was Ningbo Tianyi Toy Factory.


The last mode is the creative industry park and it is constructed with completely new. Generally, it is driven by government policy. This mode is also extremely wide spreading in Ningbo. Wealth and Creative Harbour, DIY City in Cichen were shaped by government planning.


On the whole, as Keane (2009) pointed out, through the operation from real estate developer, creative cluster had realized their real value in well organized on old buildings and city planning by real estate developer and government.


Van (2009) also proved that, social capital of creative industry took advantage from cluster. The transaction costs were reduced during face to face contact. For instance, search costs and process of bargaining were decreased.

Liu&Li(2006)have come to the conclusion that, the level of urbanization of Ningbo city is belonging to the forth rank. In other words, Ningbo has lower urbanization than other cities. They used spatial aggregation, economic development, social development these aspects to measure some sub-provincial cities like Ningbo. Cooke& Lazzeretti (2008) reports that, the higher level of urbanization result in intimate relationship with the world in creative industry. Therefore, as the present situation of Ningbo, Nie&Wang (2008) analyze on four aspects of problems that exist in Ningbo creative industry. Firstly, overvalue on business however overlook on culture. This is a problem appeared on concept aspect. Secondly, management confusion, this is a problem belonging to government system. Thirdly, creative industry is lack of policy to support, such as tax revenue and government grant. Finally, Ningbo creative industry is professionals’ scarcity that both on designer and manager.

References

Cooke,P&Lazzeretti,L(eds) 2008,Creative Cities, Cultural Clusters and Local Economic Development, Edward Elgar Publishing,UK.

Keane,M 2009, ‘Great adaptations: China’s creative clusters and the new social contract’, Journal of Media &Cultural Studies,vol.23,no.2,pp.221-230.

Liu, Yanjun&LI, Chenggu 2006, ‘Research on urbanization level of urban regional centres evaluation’, Journal of Economic Geography, vol.26, no.2, pp.225-229.

Nie, Jinglei& Wang,Qiuyan 2008 The Survey on Current Situation of Creative Industry and Development Stratagem in Ningbo. Journal of Market Modernization,Vol.561, no.12,pp.213-215.

Van Heur, Bas (forthcoming 2009) ‘The Clustering of Creative Networks: Between Myth and Reality’, Urban Studies 46.9.