“Creative city” as a brand – the case of łódź

The aim of the paper is to discuss the case of Polish city Łodź. Łodź flourished as the textile industry city since the second half of the 19th century. That changed after the Poland’s transition to a market economy. In the new situation, the city began to decline, both economically and socially. In 2012 the city authorities have adopted the Łodź Brand Management Strategy for the Years 2010–2016 and Integrated Development Strategy for Łodź 2020+. The essential element of both strategies is to apply the idea of creative industries. The motto “Łodź – City of Creative Industries” not only determines the direction of the current development of the city, but also it was the basis for applying for the title of “European Capital of Culture”. The paper presents the case of Łodź from the perspective of the official strategies adopted by the city authorities, and at the same time from the perspective of grassroots activities undertaken by residents that fit, sometimes unintentionally, in the brand strategy of Łodź ...


Introduction
Łódź is one of Polish cities, which suffered the most damage from economic and political changes after 1989. it is due to the fact, that the city built its power on textile industry, which dominated the shape and character of urban space and social structure. It is the result of both geopolitical location (russian influence resulting from partition of Poland) and the influx of workers, lured by the perspective of employment in local factories. Social diversity of Łódź found reflection in city's cultural specificity. as a result of political changes after World War ii (WWii) and introduction of centrally planned economy, the factories were nationalized, and cultural diversity destroyed during the WWii was replaced by the idea of communism.
Within the new model, Łódź became one of the leading industrial centers, which perfectly fitted the idea of united effort to build socialist economy. after political changes of 1989 the situation was reversed. The fall of industry in Łódź in the 1990s led to social and economic degradation of the city, which also resulted in the degradation of urban space. Deteriorating economical situation of the citizens, migration of people in productive age to near capital combined with lack of solutions for the current problems of the city, resulted in the formation of a negative image of Łódź, as a decaying city. Currently the situation has improved, due to new investments, European funding and foreign investors, but also, which will be the subject of this article, acceptance of the strategy of redesigning the city on the basis of the idea or creative industries.
however, positive phenomena in economy must be accompanied by positive changes in mentality, which is basically, creation of new image of the city as a brand recognized both in Poland and around the world. The city authorities of Łódź approved two documents: Łódź Brand Management Strategy for the Years 2010Years -2016 and Integrated Development Strategy for Łódź 2020+. Both documents refer to the idea of creative industries and creative potential of Łódź and its citizens. The notion of creativity, which promotes the city not only determined current course in city's development and ways of creating its brand, but was also used in the competition for the title of "European Capital of Culture". Despite failure in the race for the title, this moment was a turning point, because it started the discussion on the role of citizens of Łódź in the process of creating the new image of the city. In the article, I will discuss the case of Łódź in relation to particular phenomena on both of those levels and i will try to determine to what extent they are compatible. i will concentrate on cultural analysis of materials shaped by official narrations produced by authorities (texts of strategic documents), as well as commercial strategies produced by private entities (promotional materials of developers). i will also present examples of grassroots activities undertaken by citizens. even though they do not always comply with official programs approved by the authorities, or even break the law, at the same time they relate in an interesting manner to the idea of creativity as capital, which is allocated in and is rooted in the activities of citizens.
Such approach to the problem adopts the perspective of culture studies along with their critical potential and focus on the level of everyday cultural practices, as well as the proposals formulated by Richard Florida and Charles landry. Whereas the works of French researcher michel de Certeau provides inspiration for the division for topdown strategies (on the level of officially approved programs) and grassroots tactics (on the level of everyday activities of citizens).
having considered these perspectives allows the presentation of proposal of studying the complex specificity of cultural changes taking place in Łódź, which reach beyond the framework of what can be read in official documents and market analyses, because they do not take into account everyday cultural practice. Obviously, a thor-ough analysis of the problem would go beyond the scope of this article, therefore it is merely focused on the presentation of proposal, which will inspire further discussions.
Theoretical perspective -creative city the concept of creative cities is widely discussed in the context of urban policies. it also became the basis of many promotional strategies aimed at restoring the position of cities in decline as a result of economic and social change. however, the concept is criticized due to insufficient weight attached to the social sphere, especially when it comes to issues of social exclusion. it also shows the fact that the top-down policy imposed on "creative cities" do not always take sufficient account of the use of already existing social capital. it is particularly true for the creative class theory, which has become a catchy slogan for many promotion policies which aim at creating a new, commercially attractive, image of cities.
Jinna tay explains the concept of "creative cities": "[…] 'creative cities' is about how local urban spaces can be reimagined, rejuvenated and re-purposed within a competitive global framework" (tay 2005: 220).
the deciding factor behind the success of such model is consumerism -"symbolic, innovative and self-directed" (tay 2005: 226). At the same time the author underlined the necessity to apply the existing social capital and "soft" infrastructure: people, social networks and business skills (tay 2005: 228). these elements were also mentioned by the authors of studies, which make a starting point for the discussion about "creative cities", by Florida and landry. their most recognized works, in particular The Rise of the Creative Class and The Creative City, became also a "tool background" for urbanists and the representatives of city authorities, who aim at making creativity a leading topic in the process of building urban image. Such highlighting of the idea of creativity is based on an assumption, that city makes a perfectly suitable environment for its unique form: "[…] deriving from the problems and potentials of cities and the unique response they require. Urbanity itself -critical mass, diversity and interaction -pushes forward a certain type of creativity characterized by specialisms and niches as well as hybrid ideas" (landry 2012: 18).
the key category here is place, which is strongly associated with the problem of the development of creative industries 1 . it is also the main focus of famous work by Florida. it is the "atmosphere" of particular places, streets, districts which becomes, according to the author, the main draw attracting representatives of so-called creative class. it is, then, something, that creates "experience" (also in the meaning of creating consumer experience). landry (2012) notices the relation between the development of the idea of creativity, and also, what he calls "new economy" and "experience economy". he refers to the concept of experience economy, which describes a new form of consumer culture facing altering attitudes and consumer needs and a particular form of dematerialization of goods (Pine, Gilmore 2011). Florida (2002) also refers to this concept, relating it to creative class, which not only highly values consumerism of "experience" rather than traditional, material goods, but also actively co-creates the consumer experience, without the use of ready-made, complete scenarios (Florida 2002: 173). Florida's ideas may sometimes look too optimistic, because they ignore or marginalize the complexity of social processes occurring in a city as a result of gentrification. emphasizing the role of creative class may lead to exclusion, or at least underestimation of the influence of other citizens, who equally contribute to the living urban community. Concentrating on creation of attractive experience for the representatives of creative class in particular areas may eventually lead to the formation of entities resembling theme parks for the employees of creative sector. therefore, from the culture studies perspective it is important to highlight negative consequences of revitalization and gentrification processes, which are invariably connected with marking of "creative" areas, forming cultural districts, etc. the negative effect of discovering particular areas of the city as "attractive" for creative class is the change of their character, which is clearly visible in postindustrial and degraded areas, where a phenomenon of lofts occurs (Zukin 1989). According to critics, creative class as gentrifiers, oust local dwellers, resulting not only in social degradation, but also in the loss of the cultural authenticity of a given place (Zukin 2009).
A radically critical approach does not however consider the actual creative potential of citizens, who are not necessarily identified, according to Florida's theory, as representatives of creative class. Examples of grassroots tactical activities (Certeau 2011) prove the potential in existing local networks, as seen by tay. mark J. Stern and Susan C. Seifert (2007) criticize Florida's concept on yet other grounds. the authors present a debatable perspective in relation to a dominating model of interpretation, based on "creative industries" as space in which culture, in a narrow meaning, is a leading factor in urban development. this perspective concentrates on social and common benefits resulting from the application of cultural potential of a city after revitalization. the authors suggest "an ecological model of community culture that focuses less on institutions' contributions and more on the interdependencies among different players" (Stern, Seifert 2007: 2).
the presented concept implies a change of policies on culture: emphasis from economic conditioning and processes to the area of cultural practices (monti et al. 2014;Borer 2006). in order to present the potential approaches to the task, the following sections of the article discuss selected examples of both top-down narrations, aiming at creating new image of a city, as a city of creative industries, and also the grassroots narrations of citizens.
Creative industries as a foundation for strategies for building city brand The following section of the article focuses on the analysis of official strategic documents issued by city authorities. The first, Łódź Brand Management Strategy for the Years 2010Years -2016Years (Łódź… 2010, was meant to fill the gap caused by the lack of unified strategy for city brand (2010: 3). The ultimate goal, which is improving the quality of social life in the city, may be obtained by means of two tools: City Development Strategy, which aims at improving quality of life by particular actions "at factual level" (it seems obvious that it means mainly actions in the area of investments, social programs, etc.) and City Brand Strategy, aiming at creating new "image" (i.e. experience) of a city, by means of forming positive emotional associations (2010: 4).
The document is based on SWOT analysis and the presentation of specificity of Łódź by familiarizing with particular subproducts, such as culture, economy, education, tourism (2010: 7). Culture in this context has a narrow meaning and refers only to cultural heritage and production, and does not consider cultural practices of the citizens. According to the document, similarly to tourists, they are treated as consumers, who passively accept (or not) the suggested brand image. SWOt analysis of particular subproducts emphasizes the increasing role of creative industries in knowledge-based economy. it gives the opportunity to develop on the basis of existing academic infrastructure and intellectual and artistic tradition of Łódź, which may potentially contribute to creation of conditions described by Florida as attractive for creative class. it is worth noticing, however, that among strong points of the city in terms of culture, as listed by the authors, there is only one grassroots initiative mentioned by its name and a very general remark regarding the existence of "Strong circle of non-governmental organizations and social and cultural activities" (2010: 12). Whereas among main threats for the development of the city they include: "Blurring the boundaries between mass culture and high culture in the postmodern society" (2010: 13). the key role of this "threat" for the development of the city seems rather disputable, but it is based on an attempt to preserve the divisions evaluating cultural practices undertaken by citizens as "lesser", because they are linked to the area of popular culture 2 . among strong points of cultural space of Łódź there are such elements as the tradition of multiculturality (Poles, Germans, Jews, russians), "the rich tradition of film and film school, the existence of more than 100 murals, post-industrial architecture as a hallmark of urban space, the tradition of the Łódź avant-garde, redevelopment programmes" (2010: 12). however, it is surprising, bearing in mind above-mentioned remark concerning dangers imposed by blurring the line between various types of culture, to include the shopping and entertainment center Manufaktura among strong points of the city. this revitalized area is not only one of the main tourist attractions in Łódź, but also favorite leisure spot for the citizens. Definitely it does not, however, fit into perspective, proposed by the authors distinctively identifying "culture" with "high" culture.
Manufaktura, as space for common everyday consumer practice, makes an interesting study object, especially in relation to traditional commercial (and social) function of main Piotrkowska Street. Due to lack of central space for cultural life in the city, Manufaktura attempts to take this role, organizing various cultural events at inner "market". Obviously, they are supposed to make the shopping mall more attractive, and it becomes a new center of consumerism, the space of which might be rather referred to as quasi-public. Manufaktura took customers away from Piotrkowska Street, which used to serve as main destination for shoppers, and place of shopping activity as entertainment. Due to degradation of the street, which is gradually being dominated by mobile companies and banks (unattractive from the perspective of strollers), there has been a heated debate in Łódź about the future of Piotrkowska Street. Within the framework of "Development Strategy for Piotrkowska Street in Łódź 2009-2020" (as part of above strategy document) (Łódź Brand Management Strategy for the Years 2010-2016 (Łódź… 2010: 24) there has been approved an initiative concerning beginning of creation the brand of the street anew. the shopping function of the street was emphasized in the strategy (for example, better renting conditions for potential tenants) as well as communication (Piotrkowska Street is connecting distant parts of the city). however, the gastronomic and therefore "social" function of the Piotrkowska Street was omitted, which, as time shows, was an important way of overcoming crisis.
Further sections of the strategy for the city emphasize diversity as characteristic feature of Łódź. In the fragment devoted to "genotype" we read: "It is no accident that Łódź was the birthplace of huge fortunes born of entrepreneurial spirit, and that the city developed so dynamically […]. it is no accident that the specific kind of art -avant-garde -developed so dynamically in Łódź. […] Contemporary Łódź is developing on the basis of two key factors: eNTerPrISe aND CreaTIVITY. enterprise has been a quality of Łódź since the birth of the contemporary city. Creativity is an ability to look at things from a different point of view than other people, especially in Łódź which educates and stimulates its residents to take on a different approach with the city's appearance and character.
As we can see in the above fragment, creative engagement of citizens is supposed to give foundation for new shape of the city. however, the key idea of the document, implying transition from "manufacturing" to "creating", is visible mainly in applying new, most often commercial, functionality to the degraded postindustrial areas. But there also appears a general statement, that Łódź has a strong tradition of "grassroots citizen's movements", which have positive influence on the city (Łódź… 2010: 30).
in the paragraph discussing brand positioning the authors declare: "Positioning, i.e. the direction we must take in creating the image of Łódź and the objective we want to achieve must be based on the concept of Łódź as a CreaTIVe iNDUStRiES CENtRE. Creative industries based on enterprise and creativity of its residents is what Łódź should be famous for in future" (Łódź… 2010: 44). the document, however, does not state clearly, what the potential form of such grassroots input is, and where the authors see the space for discussion, negotiation and cooperation with citizens. Similarly, in the second strategy, Integrated Development Strategy for Łódź 2020+ (2012), we read as follows: "lodz is capable of attracting new residents by wisely exploiting the existing and new infrastructural potential, relying on the historic heritage, natural resources and mainly on creativity and activity of the people of lodz" (Integrated… 2012: 5).
here we can observe a stronger emphasis on social aims. One of the main pillars of the strategy in social integration: "Active, learning and innovative Lodz -increase of the level of social and cultural capital thanks to development of education, enhancement of active citizenship and increase of the social participation level" (Integrated… 2012: 7).
there is also some focus on groups of the excluded (for, example, senior citizens), support for grassroots organizations, volunteers, and also -which is particularly important from the perspective of the subject discussed here -participatory budget as "an instrument enabling residents to co-determine the form of local investments". Architectural revitalization is designed to result in social revitalization (2012: 15), which should coincide with the development of creative sector in economy (especially fashion, film and design), as part of tradition and history of the city. at the same time, through gradually expanding social consultation with citizens and participatory budgeting, in which the citizens can decide on expenditures of city's funds.

Private investors' reference to strategy
Approval of strategy based on creative industries as a part of city's tradition echoes in interesting marketing strategies from private investors in real estate industry. Among numerous offers of new housing estates, we often find references to the tradition and history of the city, in particular its industrial heritage. there are numerous architectural references or even reusing of existing factory buildings, as the element aiming at attracting potential buyers. it is assumed that the consumer positively associates "factory" with the period of welfare in the city (also as the time of flourishing artistic and intellectual life), and also a trendy, modern lifestyle, associated with lofts.
For the purpose of this study we will present the examples of two propositions of OPG Property Professionals (Artmodern.pl 2015a) directly referring to the history of Łódź. The first of them is art Modern housing estate (artModern.pl 2015b), currently under construction, the promotion of which is based on the reference to intellectual and artistic traditions of the city. The official website of the project contains a synopsis of historical and cultural background with the emphasis on the architec-tural principles of modernism, which this project is supposed to continue. Potential buyers receive a clear message: "if you choose to live in ARt mODERN, you will become a part of the rich history of this place" (artModern.pl 2015c). Official profile on Facebook (Facebook.com 2015), on the other hand, presents current changes in the city. We can find messages, links to press articles about improving image of the city and positive economic changes, especially in real estate market (which obviously is supposed to be an incentive for investments in art Modern). The profile and project's official website also contain "educational" contents. We can learn, for instance, what modernism in arts is and how it inspires contemporary designers. it is intriguing that the narration applied in the advertising materials seemingly assumes that a consumer possessed cultural capital, enabling him/her to understand allusions (i.e. the message is addressed to people aware of intellectual traditions of Łódź). On the other hand, the message is presented in a very popular manner, in order to explain to the unaware, how this investment continues the Łódź traditions.
Art modern is still being under construction, therefore it is impossible to decide, whether this strategy is successful, but the second project not only has a permanent place in the landscape of Łódź, but it has become an important meeting point and leisure spot for the citizens. the post-factory buildings of former factory, situated close to Piotrkowska Street, house a newly created multifunctional space called OFF Piotrkowska (OFFPiotrkowska.com 2015). it accommodates "independent" restaurants and clubs, artists' workshops, shops selling organic food and designer goods made by local designers. its general character is the outcome of industrial and "messy" look of the space (the un-renovated facades of the factory resemble squats), and attitude of openness for various initiatives of its users such as artistic events (concerts and exhibitions in clubs) or occasional events such as fairs of organic products and crafts. the unconventional character of entertainment promoted by OFF Piotrkowska and its close vicinity to main "walking" section of the street result in its huge popularity and frequent visits by the citizens of Łódź as well as tourists. The combination of "industrial character" and "creativity" not only corresponds to the principles of city brand, but also, in this case, meets the response and engagement of citizens, who "consume space" (as in Manufaktura), and also actively co-create it, obviously, within limits set by the owner 3 .

Creative potential as a tactical potential of citizens
One of the elements of the strategy for the city development, which is present in the above projects, is: however, not always the activities carried according to this principle, meet a positive response from citizens, like in case of the discussion about the new city logo. the selected project refers to the avant-garde artistic tradition by reference to works of Polish artist Władysław Strzemiński. The structure is also supposed to correspond to creative potential of citizens -it resembles blocks, which can be moved and set in new forms. this concept is not necessarily clear. it does not only mean the readability of the word "Łódź" (foreigners not familiar with Polish alphabet find it difficult to recognize), but also on the level of artistic allusions, requiring certain knowledge. Similarly as in case of other references to the tradition of Łódź avant-garde (for example, in the competition for European Capital of Culture), critics underlined the necessity of possessing particular cultural capital in order to understand the allusion, not always clear for the majority of citizens. in order to avoid such situation, as i presented earlier, the creators of advertising campaign for Art modern protect their recipients by posting "educational" contents on the project website.
however, the possibility of independent rearranging of the "blocks" conforms to the postulate of creativity as spontaneous, grassroots activity, but not always in accordance with the theses of the authors. Once published on-line, the logo caused an instant reaction of internet users, who started "adapting" it, sometimes leading to the outcomes contrary to the positive image of the brand. Apart from innocent transformations of the logo into a chicken or a drink with a straw (PiktoGrafikiSikora. com 2011), there were also attempts completely altering or even destroying the basic concept. rearranging the characteristic letters of the logo into words: "ŁÓDŹ, KUrWa" ("ŁÓDŹ, THe FUCK"), or a complete transformation into the image of two pregnant women with an inscription "DWIe CIĘŻarNe" (TWO PreGNaNT WOmEN) (Jarecki 2011), might be recognized as critical activities in the context of cultural studies dealing with popular culture as the space for "semiotic democratization" (Fiske 2010) 4 . Seemingly innocent playing with "blocks" in the logo made room for a critical reference to the strategy of creativity, at the same time using tactical potential of grassroots creativity.
The other interesting example is the new form of graffiti, which appeared in the streets of Łódź (and spread to other cities). Until then, we observed two dominant types of street art in Łódź: first, accepted by the authorities and conforming the strategies, or even financed from the city budget (Urban Forms Gallery (UrbanForms. org 2015)), and the second, defined as acts of vandalism. The latter is mainly connected to fans of rivaling football teams -ŁKS and Widzew Łódź -who paint on the walls mainly vulgar invectives (often of anti-Semite character) addressed to opposite team and the police or a faithful expressions of devotion to the team. This form of graffiti has a strong impact on the creation of a negative image of the city -Łódź -the anti-Semite city. however, a man using a nickname "Jan iii Sobieski" initiated a phenomenon, which was indeed a criticism of these activities presented in an intriguing manner. The author of the concept began to write on the walls in Łódź (he claimed that only the damaged ones) inscriptions resembling the ones produced by hooligans, but indeed they only mocked the discourse of exchange of invectives. instead of vulgar abuse directed to the rivals, the citizens of Łódź learned for instance that; "ŁKS does not read books", "Widzew Łódź takes vaccination against cold", or "ŁKS sleeps with its socks on" (Wojnatwardzieli.pl 2015). the initiative quickly got out of hand and found followers, and what is interesting, probably also among the authors of former inscriptions. misunderstanding of irony on part of few citizens had secondary importance in the face of the fact, that it provoked a grassroots, active and critical reflection on the image of a Łódź as a dangerous and anti-Semite city.

Conclusions
Adapting the new strategy for the development of the city, based on creative industries and creative potential of the city is a perfect foundation for the beginning of the process of economic and social changes in such city as Łódź. Bearing in mind history and traditions of the city, it is particularly important to include the area of culture in its narrow meaning, both in official policies (with regard to social dangers resulting from revitalization and gentrification), and in commercial initiatives, which despite its commercial character, have major influence through popularization of knowledge and promotion of a unique lifestyle of Łódź, and on creation of a positive image of the city in the consciousness of its citizens. however, one of the most important elements, not highlighted in official strategies, is the area of cultural practice, which gives space for grassroots creativity of citizens. it can be observed both in the forms of cooperation initiated by city authorities, such as participatory budgeting, which was an indisputable success and a step towards a real opening for initiatives of the citizens, but also in forms officially disapproved, or even questioning the official policies of city authorities. actual benefit from creative potential of the city -that is, in the citizensalso requires approval and reflection on this particular type of activity, which can give an insight into problems and needs of all citizens. Endorsement of a culturalist approach, which completes the economic perspective of analysis of conditions for development of creative industries with area of cultural practices, will enable elimination of dangers, such as selective application of the model of creative city. Omitting important areas of social activities and cooperation in a city, combined with creation of the brand image of a city built on culture, might, in fact, limit it to creative class, which will have a negative effect for the authentic dimension of the city and its cultural opulence.