The emerging knowledge economy: an analysis of the issues and possible outcomes of the information age in the context of a Central Eastern European creative city

Abstract

The Polish economy remains one of the most promising and changing economies in Europe. Its attractiveness, caused by geopolitical location, human and natural potential, world famous history and transition processes, creates a unique set of features that attract both foreign investment and regional investors. Facing the last environmental changes, mainly connected with the processes of the transition to the market and knowledge-based economy, it still develops and changes. In Poland there exists a set of major economic organisms that changes the country and creates most of its GDP. The metropolitan areas, including the example of Cracow, discussed above, are stimulators and attractors of both human and economic development. The open question that remains unsolved is how the metropolitan areas can improve their keystone performance. Some of the propositions of such improvements are the creative city strategies that have numerous possible outcomes. Most of the outcomes previously analysed in the literature are of economic nature. The conclusion I draw is that the creative city strategy has an enabling force - it asks the questions about the citizens’ identity and seeks for answers in all social aspects of the metropolitan life. Finally, it strongly influences the collective vision of the agglomeration’s future that, in this case, might be the most crucial element of the final results of the strategy