In this article Cali Nuur and Staffan Laestadius raise the notion of creativity in the context of non-urbanised regions in industrialised nations. They argue that in a world where urbanization is proceeding faster than ever where traffic congestion is growing, where environmental problems like smog and water pollution are significant in many of our dynamic regions and where housing prices are rocketing, opportunities may emerge for creative combinations of talented people and non- or less- urbanized regions to develop their competitiveness. What we assert is that there is variety of lifestyle-related activities outside large urbanised centres which may attract talented people who want to combine their professional and private lifestyles – and this creates opportunities.

The paper is published by the European Journal of Spatial Development (EJSD). The previous version of the journal was host by Nordregio.