An important factor in the economic integration and growth of European cites is their human capital. In recent years Richard Florida has popularized a growing interest in the role of human and creative capital in American cities and regions. However, there has been little research on this subject in European cities.

Florida's work concentrates on the new "economic geography of talent". He identifies those factors that attract human capital ("talent") and argues that the existence of a "Creative Class” is crucial to the development of a strong and stable urban and regional economy. The creative class fuels economic growth by attracting hi-tech and new media industries to the places where it chooses to locate. The process leads to the economic empowerment of cities and regions.

Testing the creativity hypothesis for European cities, Eitan Bluer investigates whether those factors which promote creativity and urban growth in the American context were also relevant in Europe. Within the research, centers of culture, openness, and creativity in Europe are identified as well.

It is possible to identity a number of characteristics that can affect the attractiveness of cities for the creative class, from social dimensions to economic and cultural ones. The effects of different immigration policies between countries, local culture, and welfare policy all have an impact on the choices made by the European creative class on where to locate.

The locational behavior of the creative class is dictated not just by occupational considerations but also by the existence of an open, heterogeneous, and tolerant urban climate that fosters creativity. Thus a set of social trend indices can lead to economic development. The research examines the role of creative capital in the economic growth of European cities, as part of the process of economic integration of Europe.