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Creative Cities and Knowledge Management Approach to Culture-Based Urban Regeneration in Slovakia: A Model

Authors:
  • School of Management/City Uiversity of Seattle in Slovakia
  • Vysoká škola manažmentu Bratislava, Slovakia

Abstract and Figures

The term "Creative City" emerged in the 90s of the 20th century reflecting the trend of transforming post-industrial cities into new creative urban centres - bases for knowledge intensive firms, highly-skilled workers and major cultural assets. The concept of culture-based urban regeneration describes a scheme where culture is purposely employed as a vehicle for an overall urban and social revitalization. The paper addresses innovative processes within culture-based urban regeneration projects in three Slovak cities - Bratislava, Zilina and Kosice - under the concept of creative city. The focus is on the implementation of a tailor-made multi-factor knowledge management model with the aim of exploring the knowledge management practices in urban development projects dealing with the adaptive re-use of industrial and cultural heritage based on the non-profit bottom-up initiatives.
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© 2021 UNIVERSITY OF ZILINA COMMUNICATIONS 23 (4) G25-G37
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE Travel and Tourism Studies in Transport Development
G25
CREATIVE CITIES AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
APPROACH TO CULTURE-BASED URBAN REGENERATION
IN SLOVAKIA: A MODEL
Mária Tajtáková*, Mária Olejárová
School of Management / City University of Seattle Programs, Bratislava, Slovakia
*E-mail of corresponding author: mtajtakova@vsm.sk
Resume
The term "Creative City" emerged in the 90s of the 20th century reflecting
the trend of transforming post-industrial cities into new creative urban
centres - bases for knowledge intensive firms, highly-skilled workers and
major cultural assets. The concept of culture-based urban regeneration
describes a scheme where culture is purposely employed as a vehicle for
an overall urban and social revitalization. The paper addresses innovative
processes within culture-based urban regeneration projects in three Slovak
cities - Bratislava, Zilina and Kosice - under the concept of creative city.
The focus is on the implementation of a tailor-made multi-factor knowledge
management model with the aim of exploring the knowledge management
practices in urban development projects dealing with the adaptive re-use
of industrial and cultural heritage based on the non-profit bottom-up
initiatives.
Article info
Received 5 September 2020
Accepted 18 January 2021
Online 25 June 2021
Keywords:
creative city,
culture-based urban regeneration,
adaptive re-use,
knowledge management,
model
Available online: https://doi.org/10.26552/com.C.2021.4.G25-G37
ISSN 1335-4205 (print version)
ISSN 2585-7878 (online version)
(3) Economic properties - suggested by Caves [6] as
a new logic of economic behaviour taking into account
intrinsic factors like personal fulfilment, the variability
of skills and talents and unpredictability; (4) Creative
identities - described by Hartley [7] as vanishing borders
between the creator, the vendor and the user of creative
services; and (5) Creative cities - introduced by Landry
and Bianchini [8] as a model of urban development
based on culture and creative industries.
As emphasized by Renz [9], creativity, in the sense of
Florida [3] and Landry and Bianchini [8], is not reserved
to artists, but is a feature of all the occupations that are
representing an ideas-driven knowledge economy. In
this respect, the report entitled Culture, the heart of the
knowledge-based economy, prepared by the European
Cultural Parliament Lisbon Agenda Research Group
[10], highlighted the strategic use of culture that goes
beyond the arts and heritage and creates a new driving
force for change and innovation in different domains of
society. The culture has a potential to inject new ideas
into business and the economy, it inspires communities
to promote new ways of participation, responsibility
and cohesion and re-energizes education. Furthermore,
the communication of the European Commission
named Unlocking the Potential of Cultural and Creative
Industries (CCI) [11], recognised the CCI as one of
Europe’s most dynamic sectors catalyzing the spill-over
effects on a wide range of economic and social contexts.
1 Introduction
In the last decades knowledge has been increasingly
recognized as the core factor of a new socio-economic
model called the “Knowledge Economy”. Within this
paradigm the knowledge is considered to be the main
source of economic progress in a nowadays society. It
generates innovation, which enhances the creation of
new socio-economic values and further development [1].
Sousa [2] emphasizes the recognition of knowledge as
the fundamental driver of sustainable competitive and
collaborative advantage and a major breakthrough in
management thinking. In addition, Florida [3] advocates
knowledge networks and highly skilled labour forces in
creative industries as key factors driving the economic
and urban growth and highlights the birth of a parallel
socio-economic phenomenon - the “Creative Economy”.
The creative economy is based on creative industries
recognizing creative labour as a vital force for the future
development. Levickaite and Reimeris [4] summarized
major concepts of this new phenomenon: (1) Creative
industries - based on John Howkins’ creative economy
[5] encompassing 15 sectors such as advertising,
architecture, art, crafts, design, designer fashion, film/
video, music, performing arts, publishing, scientific
research and technology, software, toys/games, TV/radio
and computer games; (2) Creative class - defined by
Florida [3] as people working in the creative industries;
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billion people) live in urban areas and this percentage is
expected to grow up to 73 % (5 billion) by 2030 [21].
From the development perspective, cities have been
defined as dynamic systems, which flourish, stagnate
and decline as a result of the interactions between
the main actors in the urban arena: households, firms
and the government [22]. According to Borg and Russo
[18], the dynamism of the system is determined by
technological progress, by changes in regulations
and regimes (e.g. liberalisation of world markets and
European integration) and by evolution in socio-economic
factors, such as taste, education and demographics.
In this regard, Scott [16] highlights a particular role
of local culture in shaping the nature of intra-urban
economic activity, which becomes a dynamic element
of the culture-generation and innovative capacities of
given places.
Stern [23] points out that places with high
concentrations of cultural organizations and/or access
to arts activities are more likely to undergo economic
revitalization and to overcome barriers relating to class
and ethnicity. Similarly, Shang-Ying Chen [24] argues
that the more concerns on culture/creative industry and
cultural tourism, the more concrete interactions between
culture, economic and development occur.
Culture is seen as an eminent city industry and
a typical urban phenomenon [18]. However, according
to Stasilius [25] most of the nowadays cities live in their
transitory periods caused by the vitality of renewed
globalization leading to a new urban model in which
an added value of cities does not depend on what is
produced but on the intellectual capital applied to
processes and services. This suggests growing impact
of the knowledge economy on current urban transitions.
The process of transformation of an “industrial city”
into the so-called “creative city” works under the concept
of culture-based urban regeneration, respectively
culture-led urban development. It describes a scheme
where the culture is purposely employed as a vehicle for
economic grow, local community enhancement, social
inclusion and cultural tourism development leading
to an overall urban and social revitalization. Pastak
and Kahrik [26] highlight a substantial effect of the
culture-based urban regeneration on improving the
physical quality of public spaces by creating arenas for
social interaction and educational activities. Borg and
Russo [18] identify three main impact areas of culture
on urban development: (1) direct and indirect economic
impacts (employment, value creation, etc.), (2) induced
effects of cultural activities on the quality of a place and
(3) “creative inputs” accruing to the local networks of
production and creative class development.
Actually, the concept of culture-based urban
development is not really new. According to Scott
[16], the interpenetration of culture and economy in
given places was already highlighted by Alfred Marshall
in his Principles of Economics (1920) who referred to the
beneficial effects of “atmosphere” on the workings of 19
th
It is assumed that knowledge and creative economy
are the two major forces that influence current economic
and social development showing important intersections
and possessing a significant potential of achieving
a synergic effect. The paper addresses
concurrent
influences of knowledge and creative economy on
innovative processes within the culture-based urban
regeneration projects in Slovakia under the concept of
creative city. Although cities are bases for knowledge-
intensive activities, as well as centres of major cultural
assets, only a limited attention [12-15] has been paid
to the knowledge transfer within the culture-based
urban regeneration projects. The focus here is on the
implementation of a tailor-made multi-factor knowledge
management model within the urban revitalization
initiatives in three Slovak cities - Bratislava, Zilina
and Kosice. Authors’ aim is to explore the knowledge
transfer and related managerial practices in urban
development projects, dealing with the adaptive re-use
of industrial and cultural heritage, based on non-profit
bottom-up initiatives.
2 Creative cities and knowledge management:
conceptual framework
The concept of the “Creative City” emerged in
the 90s of the 20th century thanks to publications
such as The creative city by Landry and Bianchini [8],
The cultural economy of cities by Scott [16] and later
on, Cities and creative class by Florida [17]. These
works introduced a new way of thinking about the
interrelationship between culture and a place. Culture
has been understood as a “way of doing”, which is
typical for a particular location and thus determines its
comparative advantage in the production of specialised
goods and services [18].
The new perspective highlights a city as a place
of opportunities suggesting that people living in it can
respond to challenges of urban life with their creativity,
as long as, the city provides conditions allowing them
to do so [8]. Florida [17] emphasizes the economic value
of human creativity in the city and proposes a three
Ts concept for the economic growth - technology, talent
and tolerance - stressing the important role of cities in
bringing these three factors together.
Rodrigues and Franco [19] synthetized definition
of creative cities as those that “advocate socio-cultural,
economic and political changes and are characterized by
diversity, openness, tolerance, the presence of a creative
class and high cultural dynamism”ʼ. Power and Scott
[20] claimed that the creative cities show an intelligent
strategy by joining their economic and urban strategies
with culture. In view of the knowledge economy,
cities being bases for knowledge intensive firms and
institutions (such as universities, research centres or the
cultural industries) possess a new strategic importance
[8]. It is estimated that 54 % of the world population (3.7
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three sub-indices “Cultural Vibrancy”, “Creative
Economy” and “Enabling Environment” and an overall
index “The Cultural and Creative Cities - C3 Index”
is evaluated using both quantitative and qualitative
data on a yearly basis. Up to date the CCC Monitor
encompasses [37]:
98 cities, which have been or will be European
Capitals of Culture (ECoCs) up to 2019, or which
have been shortlisted to become an ECoC up to
2023;
59 UNESCO Creative Cities (including the most
recent winners in 2015) - excluding overlap with
the ECoC;
33 cities hosting at least two regular international
cultural festivals running until at least 2015.
In 2020, the European Commission [38] launched
a project named Cultural Heritage in Action as a part of
the European Framework for Action on Cultural Heritage
aimed at empowering cities and regions to strengthen
their cultural heritage policies and initiatives as well
as develop innovative solutions to preserve cultural
heritage assets. One of the three key topics of the
project is the adaptive re-use of heritage buildings that
shall give a new use to obsolete, underused or misused
buildings. In the adaptive reuse approach, rather than
continuing the building’s existing use through upgrades
or restoring it to a specific time period, the new use is
defined and adapted to the building while preserving
and respecting its value and significance.
Authors assume that the crucial factor determining
the success of culture-led urban development within the
concept of creative city - and the factor interconnecting
all three Borg and Russo’s areas [18] - is the effective
knowledge management. Yet, as pointed out by Porumb
and Ivanova [12], knowledge distribution can be the most
sensitive aspect of the knowledge management practice.
Appelyard [39] emphasizes the need of understanding
the mechanisms and determinants of knowledge flows
in the organizational environment highlighting diverse
knowledge sharing practices. The knowledge sharing is
a critical element due to its role in converting individual
tacit knowledge into the organization knowledge. In,
addition, Martini [40] points out that knowledge sharing
is becoming more essential for areas or industries that
mostly depend on innovation as a competitive advantage,
such as creative industries.
Therefore, a multi-factor knowledge management
model is proposed, based on the SECI model to be
implemented within the process of culture-led urban
regeneration. The purpose of the model is to map and
systematize crucial factors influencing the knowledge
transfer within this particular environment and identify
the most effective knowledge management practices.
Authors believe that the expected economic effects,
community inclusion and cultural sustainability within
culture-based urban development can only be achieved in
the repeated cycles of knowledge creation, externalization
and sharing, storing and critical assessment.
century industrial districts. Scott [16] argues that in the
present context, atmosphere refers more than anything
else to a conglomeration of cultural synergies and
semiotic fields rooted in the life, work and institutional
infrastructures of particular cities. On a practical level,
Landry [27] encourages urban planners to change
their thinking from an urban engineering approach to
a creative city making agenda where good atmosphere
is the priority.
The nowadays perception of culture-based urban
regeneration is basically twofold: On one hand, it is
regarded as a mean for improving the quality of life for
local residents and social inclusion [28-31]. On the other
hand, it is seen as a way of enhancing the economic
status and competitive position of cities including the
cultural tourism development [17, 32-33]. However, Miles
and Paddison [34] argue that achieving social cohesion
and economic competitiveness have been increasingly
considered as parallel and interrelated goals.
The culture-based urban development and the
concept of creative city have been increasingly important
for the global institutional and political agenda, as
well. Since 2004, the Creative Cities Network has been
developed by UNESCO with the aim of promoting
cooperation with and among cities that have identified
creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban
development. Up to date the network comprises 246
cities from all over the world. The only Slovak city -
Kosice - was included into the UNESCO Creative Cities
Network in 2017 [35].
The network offers a key forum
for brainstorming the role of creativity as a driver
and an enabler for sustainable urban development
and a platform for action and innovation towards
implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development at the city level
[36]
.
In 2015, the European Commission established The
Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor (CCC) as a tool
for promoting mutual exchanges and learning between
cities to boost culture-led development. It is designed to
help cities to identify their strengths and opportunities,
benchmark their performance and push for policies that
boost their cultural, creative and innovation potential.
In 2020, the second edition (mapping the year 2019) of
the Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor was released
showing how well 190 selected cities in 30 European
countries (the EU-28 with Norway and Switzerland)
perform compared to their peers. It provides evidence
of the value of cultural investment and illuminates
the importance of culture and creativity for cities
increasingly competing on a global scale [37].
Creative cities have been selected based on their
demonstrable engagement in promoting culture and
creativity, from about 1 000 cities in Eurostat’s Urban
Audit. Therefore, the cities featured in the Monitor are
already top performers. Four Slovak cities - Bratislava,
Nitra, Kosice and Presov - have been included into the
annual evaluation by the CCC Monitor. In total, 29
indicators and their organisation into nine dimensions,
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processes were continuously monitored by phone, e-mail
and media in the time span of five years between 2015
and 2020. The average number of repeated contacts
with one interviewee represented nine interactions. In
total, seven persons from six revitalization projects were
interviewed. They encompassed executive managers,
innovative leaders, founders/co-founders of not-for-profit
organizations responsible for regeneration processes,
networkers and other creative and knowledge workers
representing the so-called bottom-up initiatives. The
average length of practice in urban revitalization
endeavours among the interviewees was eight years (in
2020). Several interviewees were involved in more than
one project from the sample and acted as knowledge
brokers.
In addition, primary observatory data was gathered
in the form of notes and audio-visual recordings from
visited events related to the revitalization projects. In
total, almost hundred events organized by explored
organizations, mostly in Bratislava, but also in Zilina
and Kosice, were personally visited during the study.
A very valuable addition was a participation in
conferences, workshops and various events organized by
local, regional and international institutions such as city
councils, Slovak government, chambers of commerce and
EU structures. The intention was to analyse, compare
and summarize best practices in using knowledge
tools, knowledge transfer and knowledge management
within urban regeneration initiatives implementation.
The secondary research, comprising the analysis of
available printed and electronic documents related to
the revitalization projects and official public reports
(Ministry of Culture of the Slovak republic), was used
in order to complement the primary research. This
included also regular monitoring of the revitalization
projects’ web pages, local and national newspapers such
as Trend, Profit, Forbes, Hospodárske noviny, SME, The
Slovak Spectator, Journal SaB - Stavebníctvo a bývanie,
CE.ZA.AR prize and others.
3 Methodology
3.1 The scope of the study
The study consisted of six culture-based urban
regeneration projects carried out in different parts
of Slovakia (Table 1). All the projects represented
culture-led urban regeneration activities with a common
aim of transforming unused and dilapidated buildings
with diverse types of original use into new cultural
venues. The regeneration processes started between the
years 2003 and 2013 and are partly still in progress,
although the major revitalization effort has already been
accomplished.
The analysed projects were located in three
different cities in Slovakia representing also three
different regions: Bratislava - Cultural Centre Danube
(Kulturne centrum - KC Dunaj) and Market City Hall
(Stara trznica); Zilina - Local Train Station Zilina-
Zariecie (Stanica Zilina-Zariecie) and New Synagogue
(Nova synagoga); and Kosice - IC Culture Train (Vysne
Opatske) and Tobacco Cultural Factory (Tabacka
Kulturfabrik).
3.2 Data and methods
Both primary and secondary data were collected
to map the knowledge management processes in the
culture-led urban regeneration projects in three Slovak
cities. Primary data were gathered via exploratory
qualitative research using the method of semi-structured
in-depth interviews. Repeated interviews with the main
representatives of six culture-based urban regeneration
initiatives were conducted in order to capture the
larger process of knowledge conversion and transfer.
Interviewees were initially approached by e-mail and
further interviewed personally and by phone. After
establishing the initial contacts, on-going revitalization
Table 1 Revitalization projects included into the study
project city original use new use revitalization period
1KC Dunaj Bratislava department store independent cultural centre 2010 - ongoing
2Stara trznica Bratislava market city hall market city hall & cultural
centre 2013 - ongoing
3Stanica Zariecie Zilina local train station local train station &
independent cultural centre 2003 - ongoing
4Nova synagoga Zilina Jewish synagogue cultural & community
centre 2011 - ongoing
5IC Culture Train
Vysne Opatske Kosice suburb community
centre
independent contemporary
art centre 2005 - 2008
6Tabacka Kulturfabrik Kosice tobacco factory
creative cultural factory
& co-working
incubator
2009 - ongoing
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management practices in the sample were summarized
(Table 3).
4 The multi-factor knowledge management
model
The tailor-made multi-factor knowledge
management model [13-14] was developed for a specific
purpose - the culture-led urban regeneration of unused
buildings or venues - with the aim of mapping the
knowledge transfer within this particular environment.
The model is grounded in Nonaka and Takeuchi’s SECI
model (Socialization-Externalization-Combination-
Internalization) suggesting that knowledge sharing
can support creation of a new knowledge since it can
transfer both tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge
into the organizational knowledge [41]. The SECI model
was selected as the most suitable one for application in
the environment of urban revitalization after having
researched and analysed several types of available
knowledge management models. It highlights the need
of assessing all the consecutive phases of knowledge
conversion in order to achieve a desired goal: the
efficient and effective knowledge management and
communication between all the actors (team leaders,
team members and stakeholders).
3.3 Data processing
A manual coding was applied in order to process the
textual data from the in-depth interviews transcripts
and gathered documents. Prior to the interviewing
process, a coding scheme was developed by standardizing
the units of text. These units represented also the final
structure of interviews (Table 2): Actors and activities;
history and revitalization of the building; adaptive
re-use; programming; target group(s); knowledge
management; financing; and stakeholders’ feedback.
Nevertheless, the large amount of data and
demanding conversion processes required a complex
and systematic approach in data selection, analysis
and comparison of the examined phenomena. The data
processing involved detailed analysis and comparison
of selected categories in all the examined projects,
identifying similar and different characteristics. It was
assumed that only an integrated framework and unified
criteria could lead to design of the intended knowledge
management model as an effective tool for mapping the
knowledge transfers within the culture-based urban
regeneration initiatives.
After processing all the gathered information,
a multi-factor knowledge management model for the
culture-based urban regeneration was developed. During
this process, diverse factors influencing the knowledge
Table 2 Codes for processing textual data
categories/codes specification
1actors & activities presentation of main actors involved in the regeneration process (leaders and their
teams) and activities connected with the revitalization effort
2history & revitalization of the
building
identification of the original purpose of the buildings, their history and the type of
revitalization processes
3adaptive re-use transformation of the buildings’ original purpose into new usage alternatives after
the accomplished regeneration
4 programming the structure and frequency of offered events and activities in the revitalized venues
after their adaptive re-use
5target group(s) identification of target group(s) of the revitalized venues based the proposed
activities and program
6knowledge
management
types of knowledge transfer, internal and external communication channels, involved
actors, formalized and informal knowledge management processes
7 financing sources of funding used for the regeneration, financial structure, financial vs. non-
financial inputs, budgeting
8stakeholders’ feedback opinions and reactions of stakeholders to the performance of the revitalized urban
venues after their regeneration
Table 3 Factors influencing the knowledge management in the sample
organization
type organization size management
style
environment
type program offer knowledge
type
knowledge
processes
civil
organizations,
urban cultural
centres
small (up to 15
workers)
informal, low
bureaucracy,
low power
distance, high
trust
learning
organization,
middle degree
of uncertainty,
volunteering
multi-genre,
stable,
ad hoc tacit, explicit
leadership,
routines,
acquiring,
capturing,
sharing
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Externalization
The phase of externalization includes organization of
meetings, workshops, conferences and panel discussions
with the use of explicit visual forms of knowledge
management as pictures, videos, photographs, data
presentations, statistics and reviews of visitors, or even
documentaries from the reconstruction phases of the
revitalized venues. Since most of the urban regeneration
projects are run by the non-profit organizations
supported via public funding schemes, the externalized
knowledge is mandatory available on their websites, as
well, as a tool for ensuring the transparent operations
within the subsidized projects.
Combination
Authors assume that the potential of the
combination phase lies in implementation of information
and knowledge exchange platforms, inspiration,
adoption of successful ideas and creation of the new
ones. However, it is important to be aware that the
universal rules do not always work and specific local or
regional differences should be considered. Therefore,
it is recommended to achieve a high diversity and
flexibility in activities such as program offers, entire
dramaturgy, seasonal character, stakeholders’ input and
volunteers’ involvement.
Internalization
The final phase of the SECI model - internalization
- appears to be an opportunity for creating a certain
added value to all the previous stages. Within this phase
it is expected to implement the skills and knowledges
developed during the effective learning processes
In the first stage, different phases of the SECI
model were applied to the knowledge management
processes implemented within the examined projects of
the culture-based urban regeneration (Figure 1). While
individual stages of the SECI model stayed identical,
specific elements within them were modified or newly
defined based on this research.
Socialization
The initial phase of the SECI model runs within the
context of culture-based regeneration projects at several
levels:
1. Among the team members involved in regeneration
projects (internally) and all stakeholders (externally)
on the local and regional level.
2. Among the teams of non-profit organizations
registered in the Slovak network of independent
cultural centers ANTENA (Network of cultural
centres and organisations operating in the field of
independent arts and culture in Slovakia) on the
national level.
3. Among the members of the international network
T.E.H. - Trans Europe Halles (International
network for grassroots cultural centres focused
on
repurposing abandoned buildings for arts,
culture and activism
), as the oldest and largest
organization assisting in sharing experiences
among European independent cultural centers on
the international level.
The most effective and frequently used tools were
visits, meetings, stays and presentations focused on
identifying, learning and sharing the best practices
experineced within diverse revitalization projects.
Figure 1 Adjusted SECI model for application within the culture-based urban regeneration,
based on Nonaka and Takeuchi’s SECI model, [41]
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or venues, which undergo a revitalization process. It
should be noted that most of the urban regeneration
projects are carried out as non-profit and bottom-up
initiatives based on creative ideas and social innovation.
The knowledge sharing from one project to another
is a common modus operandi in this field. The main
objective of the regeneration process is to bring unused
buildings and venues back to life. In most cases the
revitalization process involves a change of the original
use of buildings into the new usage alternatives. The
focus here was on those projects whose new purpose is
linked to culture.
Knowledge database
The knowledge database represents a generator
of human knowledge coming from different sources,
disciplines and areas. It is a bank of data, contacts,
procedures, proposals, processes and solutions related
to cases and issues that are treated or have been treated
in the past. The knowledge database is an effective tool
in previous stages, active participation or creative
and innovative approach. Through such activities as
workshops, residential stays, visits, volunteering and
regular communication, the project teams should succeed
in developing and managing their own revitalization
projects, with all the signs of transparency, effectiveness
and sustainability.
In the second stage, the original spiral SECI
model was enlarged for the purpose of this particular
research by adding eight specific elements: Revitalized
object, knowledge database, knowledge, factors,
challenges, barriers, innovative elements and
reaction. Its modification required a careful selection
of processes and tools, which reflect the particular
urban context of the examined organizations involved
in the culture-based urban regeneration projects
(Figure 2).
Revitalized object
Revitalized object represents unused buildings
Figure 2 The multi-factor knowledge management model for the culture-based urban regeneration
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functional obstacles, constraints, risks and limits.
Basically, they can be split into two categories: internal
barriers (lacking personal, insufficient material
and financial resources, limitations in program
offers or frequency of events) and external barriers
(communication with stakeholders, competition on the
market, low institutional support, biases). The impact of
both has an equal importance and deserves attention in
the urban revitalization processes in order to avoid the
risk of failure.
Innovation elements
Defining and implementing innovative elements
within the culture-led urban regeneration processes
appears to be a crucial activity for achieving demanding
conversions of the venues, as well as for ensuring their
sustainability. The innovative elements are often results
of the bottom-up initiatives proposed by visionary
leaders. Their common features are interdisciplinarity,
holistic perspective, team learning, transparency, multi-
source financing, synergy and tight public links.
Reaction
Reaction within the model stands for the feedbacks
received from all stakeholders. The ambition of most
urban-regeneration projects lies in offering a unique
vision, innovative added value and the meaningful
transformation of unused buildings and venues into
vibrant cultural and creative centres. Such an ambition
addresses diverse publics including municipalities,
regional and state institutions, not-for-profit
organizations, businesses, artists, citizens, tourists and
possibly others. It is important to monitor the reactions
of all the concerned groups in order to ensure the
acceptance and sustainability of the new purpose of
revitalized industrial and cultural heritage.
As depicted at the scheme, the revitalized object
and knowledge database represent two poles of the
multi-factor knowledge management model. They
interfere with the remaining elements within repeated
knowledge transfers. The ultimate aim of the model
is to achieve effectivity and sustainability of urban
regeneration endeavours by ensuring the adequate
knowledge transfer.
5 Findings
Provided that the focus was on urban regeneration,
the regional capitals - Bratislava, Zilina and Kosice
- from western, central and eastern part of Slovakia
were included into the study. Two of the cities from
our sample - Bratislava and Kosice - have already been
recognized as “Creative Cities” and monitored within the
Cultural and Creative Cities Index (CCC) established by
the European Commission in 2015 (Table 4).
Bratislava registers the highest score in Slovakia
within the C3 overall index and ranks 9
th
among the
especially in view of sustainability. Once the revitalization
project is accomplished, the creative leaders may not
present anymore, yet the needed knowledge remains
available to other team members. However, the essential
condition for the effective performance of knowledge
database is its on-going maintenance. The data has to
be gathered, sorted and stored in order to be available
when needed. In addition, it requires the ability of all
the involved workers to correctly identify the data, find,
implement and share them.
Knowledge
According to Wiig [42], knowledge - as a unique and
very valuable source owned by an organization - is tightly
connected to creation of an outstanding competitive
advantage. Bures [43] highlights the unique value and
character of knowledge as it possesses such attributes
which are absent in other resources. However, its specific
character of being unstable, unquantifiable, intangible
and inseparable of its bearer makes it vulnerable at
the same time. Therefore, the key factor of knowledge
exploitation is its transfer and implementation. In the
context of this study the focus was on transmission
of both the tacit and explicit knowledge among team
members, as well as from the previous regeneration
projects to the new ones.
Factors
In order to achieve desired outcomes in any type
of organization, it is necessary to define and analyse
both internal and external factors influencing the
organizational performance. Several specific factors have
to be considered in the case of urban regeneration projects,
in particular the effective team management, creativity,
innovation, learning environment and organizational
culture. It is also necessary to highlight the importance
of brave visions, complex and conceptual thinking, ethics,
as well as open and effective communication with all the
stakeholders: communities, municipality, regional and
state institutions, businesses, media, European Union
institutions, foundations, networks, etc.
Challenges
Managers of the culture-based urban regeneration
projects face several particular challenges given by the
specific nature of this type of endeavours. Their ambition
and mission are to contribute to the management of
public matters, enhancement of the bottom-up activities,
changes in stereotypes and replacement of the non-
functional usage solutions with innovative and creative
alternatives with inclusive and environmental emphasis.
Expected results include goodwill, successful inter-
sectoral cooperation and the attraction of diverse target
groups and volunteers.
Barriers
Barriers within the process of culture-led urban
regeneration involve mainly administrative and
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with parallel Saturday markets in 2015, 2016 -
2019 Interior remodelling, 2017 Exterior square
revitalization, 2018 - ongoing vivid square
revitalization project.
(3) Stanica Zilina-Zariecie: 2003 - 2009 Main
reconstruction, 2019 Remodelling after the fire.
(4) Nova Synagoga: 2011 - 2017 Main reconstruction
with parallel cultural events, 2018 ongoing
contemporary constructions upon exhibitions and
events.
(5) IC Culture Train: 2005 - 2008 accomplished
regeneration. The cultural purpose was not
sustained.
(6) Tabacka Kulturfabrik: 2009 - 2015 Main
reconstruction, 2020 Art garden revitalization.
The results of the research are very consistent
within the whole sample in terms of the performance
across the eight examined categories (textual codes).
All the revitalized buildings possessed a historical value
and were the property either of the municipality, region,
state or church. The revitalization process involved
the adaptive re-use of industrial or cultural heritage
that gave a new use to obsolete, underused or misused
buildings. The new purpose of the revitalized buildings
was ensured via written agreements on their future
usage alternatives between their owners and new
operators. This approach is in line with Landry’s [27]
vision of the “Creative City”, understood as a method
of strategic urban planning where urban innovators
are requested to reinvent the city as a lively centre of
creativity laying the foundations for improving quality
of life of the citizens.
Another common feature of all the analysed cases
was implementation of the transparent multi-source
financing models, perceived as a guarantee of the
projects sustainability. In addition, the permanent
effort to monitor stakeholders’ and visitors’ feedback,
together with open and effective communication and
long-term cooperation with municipalities and the
business sector, helped in fulfilling the innovative
and creative visions of the revitalization projects.
In particular, the long lasting collaboration with
municipalities in developing creative cities has been
pointed out by Landry [27] who emphasizes the need
of ensuring the facilitating factors that propel the
creativity of creative people. These factors include
infrastructure, research capacity, venture capital
investment or clusters of producers.
40 ranked European cities with 250 000 to 500 000
inhabitants. Bratislava gets the top spot on “Creative
Economy” in its group thanks to its leading position on
New Jobs in Creative Sector and its good performance on
Creative & Knowledge-based Jobs (8
th
). It also performs
well on “Cultural Vibrancy” reaching the 12
th
position in
the group.
Among the other ranked Slovak cities, all with fewer
than 250 000 inhabitants, Kosice reaches the overall 76
th
position and performs best on “Enabling Environment”,
ranking the 66
th
among the 79 ranked European cities
in the smallest population group. As in other European
countries, capitals generally lead on “Creative Economy”
but non-capitals, mostly medium-sized, do better on
“Cultural Vibrancy” [44-45]. Being the only Slovak
member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, Kosice
becomes a hotspot for media arts thanks to its strong
position in the ICT sector and a young vibrant creative
community [35].
Most of the culture-based urban regeneration
projects, included into the sample, represented cases
where the original purpose of the venue was transformed
into a new one, with a partial exception of Stara trznica
(City Market Hall) in Bratislava and Zilina-Zariecie
(Local Train Station) in Zilina. Diverse original purposes
of the examined venues shifted into new creative urban
centres satisfying the needs of various target groups:
young people, families, seniors, creative artists, students
and tourists. Moreover, those centres were expected
not only to provide multi-genre cultural events and
additional services, but also to preserve the historical
value of the revitalized industrial and cultural heritage
(buildings and its facilities).
Five of the six examined urban revitalization projects
have been able to sustain their original intention and
keep serving for cultural purposes. However, one project
- IC Culture Train (Vysne Opatske) in Kosice did
manage to revitalize the unused building but did not
succeed in maintaining its cultural usage. As a result,
the revitalized building serves as a grocery store today.
Generally, the examined revitalization initiatives
represented a continuous regeneration effort performed
in several consecutive stages. The regeneration stages
were carried out as follows:
(1) KC Dunaj: 2010 - 2012 Main reconstruction, 2013
- 2016 Interior revitalization and gallery, 2019
Interior remodelling.
(2) Stara Trznica: 2013 - 2015 Main Reconstruction
Table 4 Cultural and Creative Cities Index 2019 of the Slovak cities in the sample
creative city C3 index
(overall )
cultural
vibrancy
creative
economy
enabling
environment group of cities cities /
group
Bratislava 31.9 (9
th
)25.7 (12
th
)44.4 (1
st
)19.3 (33
rd
) L* 40
Kosice 13.2(76
th
)16.1 (71
st
)9.6 (72
nd
)14.9 (66
th
) S-M** 79
* L group: 250 000 - 500 000 inhabitants
** S-M group: 50 000 - 250 000 inhabitants
based
on [44]
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COMMUNICATIONS 4/2021 VOLUME 23
processes of gradual reconstruction and regeneration of
dilapidated and unused heritage buildings and actively
anticipated their adaptive re-use as vivid cultural
urban centres. These successful urban transformations,
encompassing innovative learning processes and
effective knowledge management, caught the attention
of public, as well as experts and resulted in attributing
several Slovak and foreign awards.
6 Conclusions
Common success factors for an effective and efficient
knowledge management were identified within the
culture-based urban regeneration under the concept
of a creative city. All the projects included into the
study showed almost identical characteristics in the
examined categories. Their primary intention was to
convert dilapidated and unused buildings into vibrant
cultural centres offering a rich multi-genre program
for diverse target groups. This research confirmed that
creative and innovative approach within knowledge
management enables overcoming barriers and obstacles
in the revitalization of urban industrial and cultural
heritage, based on the bottom-up initiatives and effective
knowledge creating-sharing cycle. It recognized that
the effective knowledge transfer is a key element for
achieving a successful urban regeneration, based on
the adaptive re-use of unused venues with the aim of
developing creative quarters and cities. Considering
the fact that knowledge management involves
a significant multidisciplinary character, a complex
and holistic approach is suggested for an effective
In spite of the fact that the revitalized venues
were located in different cities and regions of Slovakia
(considering possible demographic and economic
deviations), the summarized findings indicate
a prevailing compliance visible in all the analysed
projects. Table 5 summarizes the outputs gained
after the assessment and comparison of all the urban
regeneration projects included into the sample.
In view of the knowledge transfer, it was crucial
that the organizations implementing the revitalization
projects were active members of several national and
international platforms/networks for sharing knowledge
and experiences related to urban regeneration
initiatives, e.g. ANTENA (Network of cultural centres
and organisations operating in the field of independent
arts and culture in Slovakia) and T.E.H. (Trans Europe
Halls - International network for grassroots cultural
centres focused on
repurposing abandoned buildings
for arts, culture and activism).
This was particularly
important in view of the external knowledge transfer
(both explicit and tacit) between different revitalization
projects and cases. In addition, an internal knowledge
transfer was identified and ensured via people who
worked on more than one project (usually two projects)
and transferred their knowledge gained in one project
to the other one. Finally, an intra-team knowledge
transfer was identified in the form of the transmission
of individual tacit knowledge into organizational
knowledge. Especially, the transfer of tacit knowledge
from different sources was significant for succeeding in
urban regeneration effort.
As a result, knowledge managers, together with
their teams and other stakeholders, underwent the
Table 5 Comparison and summary of the examined categories in the revitalized venues
categories comparison and summary
1actors & activities
Creative, innovative and interdisciplinary individuals, educated professionals with experiences
and skills. They worked in organizations with strong culture and vision and used a conceptual
thinking leading to the effective performance and sustainability.
2history & building
revitalization
Each of the regenerated venues had a distinct original purpose and historical value, though, after
the reconstruction and conversion they all served as cultural, creative and community centres.
3 adaptive
re-use
Buildings conversion was directed towards community cultural centres, independent culture,
social events, markets and creative industries including creative hubs or labs.
4 programming
After the conversion, all the revitalized objects were characterized by multi-genre programming,
regular markets, creative and innovative workshops, charity events, various services as shops,
bars and cafes.
5target group(s) Target groups encompassed broad age and interest spectrum, social categories, locals and visitors
and the representatives of all sectors.
6
knowledge
management
Several types of knowledge transfer were identified: external knowledge transfer between
different revitalization projects across Europe (based on networking), internal knowledge
transfer via people working on more than one project and intra-team knowledge transfer via the
transmission of individual knowledge into organizational knowledge. The project leaders shared
their knowledge in managing the urban revitalization with their teams and also with other urban
regeneration projects.
7 financing Multi-source transparent financing models aimed at achieving sustainability of the revitalization
projects were implemented.
8 stakeholders’
feedback
Declared continual support, long-term visions, best practices status, awards for development,
community involvement, effective communication, transparency and sustainability.
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workers and other involved participants, ensure that
the knowledge management becomes an effective
tool for achieving a successful culture-based urban
revitalization. Project leaders together with their teams
demonstrated the ability to learn and share valuable
knowledge and experiences coming not only from their
previous activities but from experiences of their Slovak
or foreign peers, as well.
The authors believe that the creative, innovative
and interdisciplinary approach, together with the
bottom-up activities, focused on the multi-functional
usage of revitalized venues contributed to strengthening
their genius loci while serving a new cultural purpose.
In addition, it is believed that the adaptive re-use
of obsolete, underused or misused heritage buildings
enhances the potential of urban areas for becoming
vivid creative quarters and fosters regional development
based on the creative economy.
The limitations of this study consist in lacking
comparison of knowledge management practices in
similar culture-based urban revitalization projects
under the concept of creative city. This is due mainly
to the limited research carried out in the concerned
area. Therefore, a further research is needed in order to
confirm or debate these findings.
knowledge management within the culture-based urban
regeneration initiatives.
The proposed multi-factor knowledge management
model served to map knowledge management processes
in culture-based urban regeneration projects in three
Slovak cities. Nevertheless, the model can be applied
to all the cases of revitalization of unused, respectively
inappropriately used urban buildings and their
adaptive re-use for cultural purposes. It highlights and
recommends the correct usage of knowledge management
tools for teams and organizations involved in the culture-
led urban revitalization. The knowledge that is not well
managed and shared evaporates easily, especially the
tacit knowledge that resides in the minds of people and
is accumulated over time, which must be shared. Hence,
the knowledge sharing is considered to be the crucial
element for an effective knowledge management.
The
attention should be paid
especially to the
knowledge database (serving as a basis of human
knowledge, procedures, data and solutions from
various disciplines and fields), which constitutes the
indispensable ground for knowledge utilization, as well
as the knowledge transfer. The authors are convinced
that only permanent creation, distribution, storing
and sharing of knowledge, among creative knowledge
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With the uncertainty in the environment, most sectors have experienced the significance of knowledge creation and sharing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism is one of the most affected sectors during the pandemic, searching for knowledge creation and sharing to cater to tourism business dynamics. Nonaka’s SECI model has been used for creating and sharing knowledge since its introduced in 1995. The Japanese concept of the shared commonplace, known as “ba”, is crucial for this spiral process of SECI. The “ba” could play a significant role in Socialization and Externalization in the SECI model. This study aims to explore the adoption of the SECI model for knowledge creation and sharing, in the recent past study, exclusively in tourism-related studies. Therefore, fifty empirical studies in the last ten years were used for this study. SECI model has contributed to transferring intangible knowledge into valuable knowledge assets in the tourism industry in various countries by promoting and sustaining it in the tourism business. The study found that previous studies have hardly discussed the importance of the “ba” concept.
... Thirdly, the development of the creative economy is an important factor in overcoming social exclusion and inequality, and it contributes to urban and social revival (Tajtáková, M. & Olejárová, M., 2021). The creative economy is particularly important for enabling full and productive activity, creating decent jobs, stimulating entrepreneurship, promoting the formalization and development of micro-, small-and medium-sized enterprises (Borsekova et al., 2021), encouraging social inclusion (Mengi, O. & Guaralda, M., 2021). ...
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... The phenomena of rapid urbanization and globalization, especially during the last decades, have given rise to an urban dialogue regarding a variety of new ideas and planning methodologies for the remaking of the city. The most recent of these include policies for environmentally friendly cities [3,4], smart cities [5][6][7], creative cities that utilize their cultural forces [8][9][10], etc. Lately, the COVID-19 pandemic brought certain needs to light [11]. Cities must be redesigned once again to be able to meet the need for more open spaces, greenery, athletic activities, and especially the social distance that proved vital during the time of global quarantine. ...
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... Another concept related to the creative economy, even older in academic recognition [14], is the concept of the creative city, described as an urban area favourable for the development of the urban regeneration and development of the creative and cultural industries [15,16], populated by people recognised as a creative class [17] and positively affecting the area in the direction of urban regeneration and economic development [11,[18][19][20][21]. The creative class, as a concept, was recognised and put in the spotlight by Richard Florida and includes all the persons engaged in creative industries or who conduct activities implying a certain degree of creativity [17]. ...
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... The creative economy propels economic development in the area where the creative and cultural industries flourish (Florida, 2005;Harvey et al., 2012;Skavronska, 2017;Boal & Herrero, 2018;Tajtáková & Olejárová, 2021;Cerisola & Panzera, 2021); both urban and rural developments were linked to the presence of creative economy and cultural tourism (Fridgen in Sigala & Leslie, 2005;Oakley, 2006;Rogerson, 2010;Richards, 2011;Miles in Drummond, 2021). The economic development generated by the connection between the creative and cultural industries on one hand, and the tourism, on the other hand, is confirmed in numerous cases, such as in Canada where tourism was enhanced by investing and developing various facilities specific to creative and cultural industries (Stolarick et al., 2010), in Sweden where the village Jokkmokk developed as a tourism destination based on its cultural history as settled by the Sami people (Brouder in Drummond, 2021). ...
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