Within global competition cities need to win investors and create more and better jobs. The exploitation of creative industries, which have high, but often unrecognised potentials, contributes to the fulfillment of the Lisbon objectives on local levels. The challenges for creative industry actors are high (low capital endowment, poor networking, low external visibility), though they do not have enough capacities to develop their potentials as they lack needed resources and know-how. Most European cities are not aware of the benefits creative industries do offer and have not yet developed suitable policies or instruments. That goes hand in hand with a lack of transnational comparable data on the impact of creative industries for economic growth. At the same time a lobby for creative industry needs to be strengthened.CREATIVE CITIES fosters the exploitation of unused potentials (e.g. improvement of income situation to stabilise and increase employment, international marketing). Improving the creative industry sector's environment enhances competitiveness and employment opportunities as significant contributions of the project towards the achievement of the Lisbon agenda. Achievements: CREATIVE CITIES undertakes the task to establish and strengthen creative industries in five Central European major cities in the field of economic promotion and urban development. With help of SWOT-analysis, concept and realization plan was prepared of every partner city. Partners jointly formulated objectives for future transnational collaboration and elaborated a Joint Action Plan (JAP), including local and joint transnational measures to support the clustering of the sector’s businesses, to market creative industries, and to integrate the spatial dimension of the partner cities’ aim to become ‘creative cities’ in urban development policies. The JAP contains information on six pillars: »Networking«, »Infrastructure«, »Financial Support«, Further »Education & Employment«, »Marketing« and »Transfer of knowledge«. In addition to the conceptual outputs, a series of operative actions took place: five Creative Cluster Managers are established, 5 Creative Industry Cluster Contact Points continuously offer mediation and consultation of creative industry actors, both participate in numerous trainings to offer the best possible consultation and advice for the creative industry stakeholders and both developed instruments for consulting. Strategies, so-called »tactical promotional programs«, were elaborated in every city to further enhance the marketing of the regional clusters. Strategies are in process of realization since 2011 for »CREATIVE Leipzig« (DE), »CREATIVE Gdańsk« (PL), »CREATIVE Ljubljana« (SI), »CREATIVE Pécs« (HU), and »CREATIVE Genoa« (IT). To strengthen city campaigns cluster brochures, websites, gadgets and products, SOCIAL Media tools and events were produced and published. Beside, strengthening economic promotion, the aspects and effects from creatives give basic impulses for urban development. During project life time analysis on urban development was realized, specific districts of every partner city is named, dialogue with local creative stakeholders and policy makers was focused to strengthen stability or define visions for district development with aim to elaborate integrated urban development concept that offer potentials to further funding. The final »guidelines for district development« are in process of elaboration. Additionally, the project and its ideas were announced and spread to different stakeholders and interest groups in public conferences and partner meetings, presentations communicating the project during different events, press conferences, the project website and leaflets. Find out more about CREATIVE CITIES on www.creativecitiesproject.eu