Housing Policy for the Creative Class - Creative City Region Edinburgh

Report on Housing policy in the Edinburgh Creative City-Region This report aims to define a strategic housing policy contributing to the delivery of the strategic vision and spatial objectives set out in the Creative City-Region Edinburgh - Strategic Spatial Vision Project. The housing policy is built upon the addressed special housing issues and requirements of creative professionals [BOP (2010)] in academic literature, on the vision’s Strategic Growth Poles Map and Creative Industry Location Chart.

1. Strategic Contexts The Creative City-Region Edinburgh strategic vision sets out a future, where the region will be a creative place with distinct urban characteristic offering lifestyle and employment opportunities in the creative industries. The strategic aims are laying down the foundations of vibrant and resourceful urban scenery nurturing creative economies and its actors, agents. The defined strategic growth poles and the creative industry locations give spatial dimensions to the vision by mapping out the focal points in the city-region to expand creative industries and cultural enterprises. The vision is focusing on attracting and retaining talents and increasing the presence of the creative class as residents, workers, start-ups entrepreneurs and venue operators.

2. Special issues and requirements of the creative class The vision has implications on the housing needs of the actors of the creative economies; this report accepts that the housing demand of the creative class (Florida, 2003) is a unique sub-segment of the housing market [Landry, (2000, 2006); Deffner and Veachopoulu (2011)] with special drivers and needs to satisfy. 

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Lifestyle considerations: “What is there? Who is there? What is going on?” Creative class is highly responsive to quality places with distinctive characteristics, to cultural intermixing, to unique street and cultural life sceneries. They are actively looking for peer recognition, communication and interaction, cultural and entertainment venues in walking distance. This is an urban experience found in centres and different districts or neighbourhoods. Another aspect is that ‘creatives’ tend to cluster up close to places (urban cores) of vibrant life activities and dynamic and participatory experience like Leith in Edinburgh.

Design a Place of Life and Work: A consequence of their way of life that boundaries of living and working space are blurred, often joined up in the same unit, it has practical reasons too: it is cheaper and one doesn’t have to commute. Options to establish places capable of accommodate both functions are highly preferred. This means buildings converted to home and work units either within one unit or incorporating the two function into a larger mixed use compound such as converted buildings with exhibition, studio and office spaces, workshops and small retail spaces, cafes and homes forming creative hubs.

Affordability and Availability: Property prices are crucial as young innovators, start-up companies and artists are especially priced out of traditional areas. They need affordable, cheap places with low prices to live and work for keeping starting costs down. A starting point can be the annual Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey with 2013 as a base year.

Location and Spatial Distribution: Creative class need larger working space, close or joining to the living space. Run-down areas can provide cheap short term leases; meanwhile underutilised properties can offer generous space for workshops, studios, offices and living

spaces as long as they remain affordable. Leith, Leith Docks, Granton and Portobello areas in Edinburgh and in urban cores of settlements in the region all have opportunities to exploit.

Certain districts of East and West Lothian and the Borders have more established creative industries can be the jump stone for the industry in the wider region.

3. Housing Policy for the Creative Class: The creative industry requires a new approach to provide housing solution meeting with needs of the creative class. Creative activities as defined by the vision (Appendix 1) in their early life circles generally taken place in units, where workshop, studio, start-up business or office space, design shop, and cultural venues and homes are incorporated to the unit.

Policy: Establishment of new homes, conversion of existing buildings incorporating functions vital to creative activities will be actively supported in the Edinburgh cityregion with the preference of the use of vacant or derelict old buildings, empty office buildings, former warehouses, factories, floors above shops on high streets, mill houses:.

A. In identified areas of the vision’s strategic policies in Edinburgh such as Leith, Leith Docks, Granton, Portobello or areas identified by the strategic cooperation of stakeholders, B. In urban cores of settlements in the wider regions accommodating C. Major new development to accommodate housing requirements for Science and R&D professionals are only accepted if they can be sustainably complement the strategic growth poles (Appendix 1) The exact locations within the areas are specified in the Local Development Plans.

4. Outcomes Expected outcome of the housing policy is an increased presence of the creative class in the region by attracting and retaining creative industrial start-ups, artists and cultural entrepreneurs. The policy will contribute to fulfil the estimated housing demand of 34.000 new homes between 2009-2032 [SESplan (2010, 2011)] although its levels cannot be estimated yet.

5. Implementation and monitoring The policy will be implemented by the cooperation between the Local authorities and councils, the Creative Scotland organisations, Local and Neighbourhood Partnerships, the Visit Scotland, the Business Gateways and tourism and hospitality, major employers and destination management, creative industry representatives. Stakeholders are to identify areas and location suitable for creative industry purposes in Local Development Plans.

At the moment there is no adequate methodology to measure outcomes, it has to be developed.

This report suggest the measurement the increase of the numbers of residents from the creative class; the creative economy performance figures based on DC research’s methodology [2012], Florida’s 3T index and a decrease in the number of the vacant and derelict buildings based on the annual Scottish Vacant & Derelict Land Survey. In addition annual researches such as Creative Industries Economic Estimates index [DCMS (2011] performed by various organisations can help to follow up outcomes.

6. Relationship to the Creative City-Region Edinburgh strategic vision The policy is targeted to contribute the strategic policies:   

a thriving Creative Life based on the actors of the creative economy; application of Creative Solutions in the method of delivery and participation; enhancement of the Quality of Life by urban design and with the promotion of lifestyle choices.

On long term the strategic vision and policy will lead to an expansion and spill-over effect of the creative economy in the region as more and more quality places and homes will be available for ‘creatives’ to live and work and get connected [Appendix 3].

Creative industries, local government bodies and community organisation will directly benefit from the cooperation as local activities of creative industries beside the economic output do strengthen local identities by expressing them on artistic ways. This in turn will affect tourism and destination management and demands for hospitality industry.

Reference List BOP Consulting (2010), Mapping the Creative Industries: A Toolkit, The British Council Available at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/mapping_the_creative_industries_a_toolkit_2-2.pdf Deffner, A. and Vlachopoulou, C. (2011) Creative City: A New Challenge of Strategic Urban Planning?

Available at: http://ideas.repec.org/p/wiw/wiwrsa/ersa11p1584.html DCMS (2011) Creative Industries Economic Estimates Annual Report; Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/77959/CreativeIndustries-Economic-Estimates-Report-2011-update.pdf DC Research (2012) Economic Contribution Study: the Arts and Creative Industries in Scotland (Final Report); Available at http://www.scottishenterprise.com/~/media/SE/Resources/Documents/DEF/Economic%20Contribution%20ACI%20in%2 0Scotland%20Annexes%20to%20Final%20Report%20June%202012.pdf Florida R, (2004). The Rise of the Creative Class: And How it's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life. 1st ed. New York: Basic Books.

Landry, C. (2006) The Art of City Making; Earthscan, London Landry, C (2000), The creative city : a toolkit for urban innovators, Comedia SESPlan (2010) Main Issues Report, Available at: http://www.sesplan.gov.uk/consultation/cons_docs.html SESPlan; Proposed Plan (2011), Available at: http://www.sesplan.gov.uk/representation/proposedplan.html

Appendix 1 - Strategic Growth Poles Map

Appendix 2 - Creative Industry Location Chart Creative Industries Advertising Architecture Arts & Crafts (design) IT & Software Publishing and Media Fashion Design Film & Broadcasting Performing arts, music Culture & Events R&D Science

Related Services Tourism Leisure Hospitality

Edinburgh East Lothian

Scottish Borders

Midlothian West Lothian Falkirk

Clackmannanshire

Fife

Appendix 3 – Relationship to Strategic Vision Creative Vision Policies

Contribution to aims

Strengthening creative economy

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Creative growth poles

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Supporting start-ups

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Cultural Clusters

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Cultural Capital 2030

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Attracting investment

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Creative spirit

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Broadband internet

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One ticket for all

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Cross connecting

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High speed train

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Zero Waste

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Smart meters, Renewables

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Electric vehicles

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Integrated Spatial Planning sys

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E-government

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City-region planning board

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Public space boards

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Waverly station conversion

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Airport city

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Portobello Town

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Quarter Leith

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Leith Waterfront

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Granton Harbour

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Blurring edges

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Walkable streets

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Re-use of buildings

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