Helsinki has achieved the highest score of the 20 cities who so far have had their creative
capacity measured according to the Creative City Index, which is a combination
of a subjective self-assessment and an external evaluation buttressed by factual data.
Helsinki ‘punches above its expected weight’, yet there is no cause for complacency.
The larger context of a financial crisis, economic restructuring and difficult geo-political
dynamics is crucial to consider.
This summary highlights the key messages and opportunities emerging. A further extended
summary covers how and why Helsinki reached its high score and the main issues
and problematic areas emerging. A series of conceptual tools and analyses are also provided.
They may help Helsinki think through some future challenges, how to go about them and
how its potentials can be harnessed and harvested. The audit was undertaken by Charles
Landry, who has a 20 year involvement with the city, and his team in collaboration with City
of Helsinki Urban Facts on behalf of Helsinki City Council. In so doing Helsinki has become
part of a growing comparative global dataset of creative cities highlighting and sharing global
good practice. 245 people took part either in face to face interviews or electronically.
The survey and discussions focused on how well people felt and Helsinki performed in
relation to the 4 themed clusters and 10 domains below.