Cities are cauldrons of creativity. They have long been the vehicles for mobilizing, concentrating, and channeling human creative energy. They turn that energy into technical and artistic innovations, new forms of commerce and new industries, and evolving paradigms of community and civilization. The argument of this book is not that the role of creativity in city formation and growth is new, but that, with the decline of physical constraints on cities and communities in recent decades, creativity has become the principal driving force in the growth and development of cities, regions, and nations.