"The cultural sector plays an important role in sustainable economic development and creates economic activities, opportunities for entrepreneurship and jobs, adding to the attractiveness of cities and contributing to the development of tourism. This book offers both a theoretical and practical analysis of the contemporary approach to culture and innovation, with special emphasis on the relationship between culture, innovation and the economy. Sustainable development itself balances environmental protection, culture, social progress, the economy and stability today, and for the future. The book's key theme is the role and possibility of culture as a laboratory, with a strong supporting subtext on innovative practice. The book provides an eclectic mix of possibilities that reinforce and underscore the full innovative and complex potential of culture. It is a cross-disciplinary volume presenting case studies that cover the main theme of cultural ecosystem in a very broad sense, highlighting the relationships that could lead to a sustainable system where the economy and culture are the main players. It proposes and maps the European perspective of urban cultural development and suggests that the successes and challenges of the European cities under consideration may offer guidance on best practice for urban development in other distant cultural contexts. This book is written in such a way that it can be used as a summary for a cultural professional, a reference text for an academic or for actors in local development and cultural policy at European, national, and local level"--