Creative activities, smart specialization, and opportunities for small urban areas: the Estarreja’s carnival case

Abstract In the context of consolidation of a society of knowledge, learning, and creativity, urban territories have had to readjust their strategies around creative activities, constituting new logic of territorial development and public policy. Building on the contextualization of smart specialization within the framework of European public policies and the importance of creative activities and resources, this study intends to identify new opportunities for small urban areas in order to redefine their local development strategies. The study aims to promote a debate on the valorization of cultural and creative dynamics that promote integrated and transversal development of the different actors and their territory. The municipality of Estarreja, Portugal, was used as a reference in the context of a small urban space with a past trajectory of industrial specialization, but with some current creative dynamics. In fact, this study intends to discuss the feasibility of applying this strategic matrix within the scope of current public development policies.