The Geography of Creativity

Gunnar Törnqvist, Department of Social and Economic Geography, Lund University, Sweden and The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

What is creativity and who exactly is creative? In this insightful and highly readable book, Gunnar Törnqvist attempts to answer these questions by arguing that geographical millieux are hotbeds for creativity and renewal – places where pioneers in art, technology and science have gathered and developed their special abilities.

‘This elegantly written and very readable book can be highly recommended to scholars and students in regional science and economic geography alike. Those familiar with the wider discourse and contemporary debates will find this book a stimulating complement to the established repertoire on creativity and innovation while those just starting to explore these themes will experience this book as valuable introduction.
– Melanie Fasche, Journal of Regional Science

‘. . . the author must be credited on successfully opening the black box of creativity to economic geographers by introducing well-known insights and a vast literature from psychology. The book provides an expedient additional material to many graduate seminars dealing with creativity and innovation geographies and serves as a vital input for discussions concerning the renewal process as a whole. The Geography of Creativity is a well-written, compelling book with astonishing examples and a valuable read for economic geographers, historians and in fact to everyone with a general interest in approaching creativity from a spatial perspective.’
– Lech Suwala, Regional Studies

‘Gunnar Törnqvist, one of the world’s most distinguished economic geographers, can fairly claim to have discovered the notion of the geography of creativity over thirty years ago. This remarkable book summarises his immensely original and important research on the subject, which now dominates the geographical literature. It is the book that the world has been waiting for him to publish.’
– Sir Peter Hall, University College London, UK

‘This book offers a comprehensive perspective on the salience of context in fostering or hindering creativity. After several decades of research and teaching, Gunnar Törnqvist has become a foremost authority on the subject. Here, his elegant conceptual overview is complemented by a methodologically innovative scrutiny of career journeys, including those of Nobel Prize laureates. The Geography of Creativity will be warmly welcomed by not only cultural geographers, but also by scholars in various fields of social science and humanities.’
– Anne Buttimer, University College Dublin, Ireland