Developing creative quarters in cities: policy lessons from 'Art and Design City' Arabianranta, Helsinki

Many cities invest in creative quarters, cultural clusters or design cities to support their creative industries. The development of such areas is far from easy, and success stories coexist with failures. This article reviews the case of Arabianranta in Helsinki, in order to gain insight into its critical success factors that, when properly contextualised, may help other cities to develop such locations. Although an important part of its growth and development, as such, has to do with well-established art and design dynamics in Helsinki, deliberate policies attuned to keep a thematic focus and functional mix in the district have been pivotal.