Medium and Small Cities, Culture and the Economy of Culture. A Review of the Approach to the Case of Spain in Light of International Scientific Scholarship

Abstract

While most published studies on the economy of culture present a clear bias in favor of large cities, a significant international bibliography has emerged in recent years that privileges the perspective of medium and small cities. Unfortunately, the case of Spain has been largely overlooked by these analyses; this text is intended to remedy that oversight. To that end, a bibliographic compilation has been undertaken of studies on the cultural economy and cultural development in small and medium Spanish cities, providing a review of the specific literature as contrasted with the international literature. The main conclusions indicate that the Spanish case is similar to that of other western countries. Thus, clear confirmation is found that the effects of agglomeration economies and the so-called metropolitan bias also prevail in Spain, together with dispersion patterns that, to a certain extent, favor particular small and medium cities. Furthermore, even though the literature on the use of culture for urban renewal is abundant, the same cannot be said for the economics of culture, where considerable research gaps persist, both in the geographical coverage of case studies and in the social or labor impacts of this economic model.

Cultural and Creative Ecosystems in Medium-Sized Cities: Evolution in Times of Economic Crisis and Pandemic

“…Thus, as shown in Figure 1, within the 81 cities, we find 32 integrated into metropolitan areas, while 49 cities are located outside metropolitan reach, in areas of low demographic density. Coruña, and Oviedo-Gijón), this being a significant factor for the configuration of cultural ecosystems in this urban model, according to the scientific literature [13]. Thus, as shown in Figure 1, within the 81 cities, we find 32 integrated into metropolitan areas, while 49 cities are located outside metropolitan reach, in areas of low demographic density.…”

“…Among these, are seven cities that have been declared by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites (Santiago de Compostela, Segovia, Ávila, Toledo, Cuenca, Cáceres, and Mérida), along with well-known tourist destinations on the Mediterranean coast (Estepona, Fuengirola, and Benidorm) and Canary Islands (San Bartolomé de Tirajana). Among the geographical factors that need highlighting is whether a city is located within or outside of any of the 15 main metropolitan areas of the country (these fifteen areas are Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, Bilbao, Málaga, Zaragoza, Palma de Mallorca, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Murcia, Alicante, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Vigo, La Coruña, and Oviedo-Gijón), this being a significant factor for the configuration of cultural ecosystems in this urban model, according to the scientific literature [13]. Thus, as shown in Figure 1, within the 81 cities, we find 32 integrated into metropolitan areas, while 49 cities are located outside metropolitan reach, in areas of low demographic density.…”

“…The specialization conferred by the significant concentration of companies and jobs in some specific sectors and phases of the production chain [13] is a common attribute of ecosystems in medium-sized cities [15,28]. For this work, it is important to consider that such specialization may differ if the cities considered are metropolitan or not [6,16,17].…”

“…We do this while assuming the "ecological" nature of cultural and creative activities developed in (these) cities, in the sense that they operate through interconnections and interdependencies of resources of various types [10][11][12]. We also take into consideration that the ecosystems of these medium-sized cities have scored very positively in recent evaluations of their cultural and creative performance [9,13]. Additionally, as found by Barrado et al in a previous research by members of this group on medium-sized Spanish cities, these are specialized ecosystems, although specializations differ depending on a city's metropolitan or non-metropolitan location [13][14][15].…”

“…We also take into consideration that the ecosystems of these medium-sized cities have scored very positively in recent evaluations of their cultural and creative performance [9,13]. Additionally, as found by Barrado et al in a previous research by members of this group on medium-sized Spanish cities, these are specialized ecosystems, although specializations differ depending on a city's metropolitan or non-metropolitan location [13][14][15]. It has also been detected that cultural companies and jobs in these ecosystems belong to diverse sectors [16,17], making it possible to demonstrate that the formation of hubs, or functional clusters, is not exclusive to large cities [11].…”