Attracting and keeping creative people in Toronto is vital to the local economy, a report released on Monday says. 

And their value extends beyond the traditional arts and cultural sector to industries as diverse as biotechnology, furniture design, games development and new media, the report says.

David Miller wants to act now on creative city strategy for Toronto.

"Not only does the generation of economic value flow from this creative economy, but the people who work in creative occupations and industries are themselves drawn to places that offer a critical mass of creative and cultural activity," says the report, Strategies for a Creative City: Imagine a Toronto.

The report's authors, led by Meric Gertler, a professor at the Munk Centre for International Studies, were asked in 2004 to study strategies that foster creativity in centres such as Barcelona, New York, London and Berlin.

Toronto can build on its multiculturalism and its existing cultural industries to enhance its creative profile, the report says.
 
"We attract so many talented people and have so many talented people who are indigenous to here — it's really how we harness that and market it to the rest of the world," said Aisha Wickham of the Urban Music Association of Canada, one of the members of the leadership team.

Recommendations in the report include:

• Expanding creative programming for youth.
• Funding arts and creativity in public education.
• Providing business skills development for creative industries.
• Establishing a fund of cultural and creative "risk" capital.
• Advancing Toronto as a centre of design.
• Providing affordable and stable spaces for creative workers.
• Continued development of cultural spaces such as the Don Valley Brickworks and Distillery District.
• Creating ways to connect members of Toronto's cultural communities.
• Providing stable funding for creative projects.

Toronto has a lot to offer already, Mayor David Miller said after the report was released. 

"Toronto fosters a culture of creativity," Miller said. "We are a place of diversity and celebration, innovation and education and we attract the best of Canada and the world."

However, more is needed, including co-operation among all three levels of government, to improve conditions for creativity, he said.

The report took 18 months to complete and involved 17 different team members from many creative backgrounds, including music, education, the arts and city planning.

The study was done simultaneously in Toronto and London, England.