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DOI: 10.15862/40KLSK226 (https://doi.org/10.15862/40KLSK226)

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Netreba E.S. [Сreative associations as institutional drivers of a comfortable urban environment: collaboration strategies in a regional context (the case of Yekaterinburg)] World of Science. Series: Sociology, Philology, Cultural Studies, 2026, Vol. 17, No. 2. Available at: https://sfk-mn.ru/PDF/40KLSK226.pdf (in Russian). DOI: 10.15862/40KLSK226

Сreative associations as institutional drivers of a comfortable urban environment: collaboration strategies in a regional context (the case of Yekaterinburg)

Netreba Elizaveta Sergeevna
Ural State University of Architecture and Art, Ekaterinburg, Russia
E-mail: Elizabeth.netreba@gmail.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9749-5569
RSCI: https://elibrary.ru/author_profile.asp?id=895649

Abstract. The article proposes an author’s model of institutional mechanisms and collaboration strategies to assess the impact of creative associations on the comfortable urban environment.The relevance of the study is due to the need to reconsider the understanding of creative associations — from exclusively professional communities of artists to active agents of urban and sociocultural change. Using the example of Yekaterinburg, where creative clusters and self-organizations have become part of urban policy, a research gap is revealed: existing works focus on the artistic originality of associations but do not consider them as institutional drivers of a comfortable urban environment. The aim is to identify and analyze the institutional mechanisms and strategies of art collaboration through which creative associations in Yekaterinburg influence the formation of a comfortable urban environment. Methodology is based on a synthesis of the institutional approach (understanding an association as a hybrid institution combining formal and informal mechanisms) and the concept of a comfortable urban environment. The empirical base includes content analysis of publications for 2023–2026, mapping of key clusters and public art objects, expert interviews with leaders of associations, and a survey of young artists. Results: three types of associations are classified — creative clusters, festival projects, and artistic self-organizations. The author’s model is proposed with four mechanisms of influence (resource, communication, territorial-localization, network). Three sustainable collaboration strategies are identified: resource-infrastructure (clusters), event-communication (festivals), and hybrid-network (self-organizations). Discussion: it is found that the effectiveness of associations as drivers of the urban environment correlates with their ability to combine features of a formal organization and an informal network; systemic limitations are identified (economic instability, risk of gentrification, cognitive gap with citizens). Conclusion: it is proved that creative associations in Yekaterinburg act as full fledged institutional drivers of a comfortable urban environment; the results can be used by local governments in developing strategies for supporting creative industries and by grantmakers to evaluate the effectiveness of projects.

Keywords: creative associations; institutional drivers; comfortable urban environment; collaboration strategies; creative clusters; hybrid institutions; Yekaterinburg

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