From the late 1970s, many governments in European countries have identified culture as an inescapable tool to improve the conditions for sustainable development, namely in urban regeneration projects, the revitalization of local economies, the promotion of social cohesion and innovation, to foster intercultural dialogue and react to environmental demands. In the same sense, in transition to this century, many experts and politicians proposed new formulas that link innovation to cultural creativity, recognizing the potential of cultural and creative industries as driving forces of development within a global and competitive framework. Recently, this debate underlines the role of cultural and creative spill-overs in various sectors, places and, more broadly, throughout society. However, the commodification of local culture and places also have controversial impacts. We saw an occurrence of "musealization" and "touristification" processes that imposed access and daily use restrictions to residents impelling them to the peripheries. Moreover, cultural actors are compelled to follow consumption logics given the dependence of public funding. Research literature tends to focus on large cities neglecting the potential of smaller communities and their role in the European territory. Thus, through in-depth case-study research, these paper examines some features of cultural strategies developed in six small and medium-sized urban centers located in European intermediary regions, namely the City of York (UK); Jyväskylä (FI); Óbidos (PT); Český Krumlov (CZ); Angoulême (FR); and Reggio Emilia (IT). For the analysis we developed an analytical model to questioned political discourses, rationales, and planning tools through the analysis of different initiatives, documents, and interviews with key informants. The model puts in evidence the complex and intertwined web of relations where political processes, actors and contexts are embedded, enlightening the specificities and disparities in a comparative framework.

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