This article studies creative clusters outside metropolitan areas in Spain. Both the notion of cluster and that of creative activity tend to be associated by mainstream research with urban settings; thus, situating them in an non metropolitan or rural localities has required us to adapt the usual methodology to the scale and idiosyncrasies of a rural setting. Based on this new focus, we have been able to identify 761 municipalities that could host creative clusters within an initial area of study of 7,367 non-metropolitan municipalities with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants. This methodology also has allowed us to measure intensity, internal composition, and localization, so that those of a more mature or advanced character, having a greater level of specialization and diversity, predominate in places close to metropolitan areas and the Mediterranean axis, whereas in the inner Spain, they are found in a lower proportion and in a more scattered and discontinuous manner. Activities belonging to the Functional Creations sector prevail over those from Communication and Patrimony in the configuration of the clusters, although there are differences in relative specialization according to their mature or advanced level. In addition, some of the most significant indicators of rural dynamism-population growth, human capital, unemployment, and economic activity-show much better behaviour in municipalities with creative clusters.

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This work uses tools recently designed to conduct analyses and proposals around the cultural development of medium-sized cities. The Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor model, or CCCM, is first applied to the 81 cities in Spain with between 50,000 and 100,000 inhabitants. We also refer to the UNESCO Culture/2030 Indicators, specifically indicator 8 (Cultural companies), to investigate whether cultural dynamism is related to business vitality in those cities. Our observation of the 29 CCCM indicators and the C3 index, which synthesizes cultural performance, is explained, and these data are complemented with cultural business data (on assets, benefits, and jobs) from a sample of 13,204 firms. The C3 index values reveal significant differences in the cultural and creative performance of the selected cities according to their location (metropolitan or non-metropolitan) and their administrative rank. Moreover, when comparing the C3 index with the indicators on business activity, evidence indicates a clear positive relationship between cultural dynamism and firm vitality. These results support the contribution of culture to the sustainable development of medium-sized Spanish cities and further establish the suitability of the tools used to assist cities in designing appropriate cultural policies.

Aplicamos la herramienta Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor (MCCC) para medir el desempeño cultural de las 81 ciudades españolas de 50 000 a 100 000 habitantes y evaluamos su contribución a la comprensión de los ecosistemas culturales estudiados. Expuestas las cuestiones teóricas y las hipótesis que se pretende verificar, obtenemos primero los 29 indicadores que describen la vitalidad cultural, la economía creativa y la calidad del entorno para la cultura en cada ciudad, superando los retos planteados por las fuentes. Para conseguir el segundo objetivo, contrastamos el comportamiento de diferentes tipos de ciudades según los índices de desempeño cultural generados, particularmente el índice C3. También exploramos la relación del índice y diversas características socioeconómicas y, mediante un análisis clúster, establecemos una tipología de ciudades según el perfil dominante –vitalidad cultural, economía creativa, contexto socio espacial– en sus respectivos ecosistemas. Los resultados dejan patente que el MCCC mejora la comprensión de los ecosistemas culturales captando sus diferencias intrínsecas. Se evidencian variaciones de comportamiento entre ciudades metropolitanas, no metropolitanas o turísticas y se obtienen agrupamientos coherentes de ciudades, que pueden compartir de ese modo sus estrategias para que las políticas culturales urbanas sean una parte central de la política local.