Host institution: University of Aveiro, Portugal;   Lead supervisor: Joao Mota: joaomota AT ua.pt

Description: Early dynamics of industrial growth have been replaced in the last five decades by the dynamics of differentiation. This has led to services outside the actual production process resulting in decay and transformation of old industrial areas. However, these areas may be also perceived as dynamic spaces where opportunities for new programmes supporting regional development can be creatively considered. Hawkes particularly emphasised the role of culture, creativity, design and innovation for economic development. However, design for economic development faces different challenges than design for competitive edge. In order to be successful, the former has to be keyed into the socio-cultural-industrial regional context leading to a multi-faceted, intricately interlinked, macro-scale design space.

Using examples drawn form across the DESIRE network as well as targeted surveys and fieldwork, the project will explore the transfer and synthesis of methods and models of creative problem solving from domains including arts, industrial organisation and regional planning to the macro-scale design problem of creating new economic ecologies for regional regeneration.

Outcomes: Collated and analysed case studies of radical regeneration programmes based on existing literature, demonstrating best practice and enabling horizontal knowledge transfer in creative aspects of macro-scale problem solving. Other outcomes consist of new paradigms for understanding and addressing macro-scale creativity, enabling vertical integration of multi-disciplinary and multi-sectorial approaches.