Book excerpt: This book analyses the influence of art and culture as an engine to promote the resilience of regional and urban economies. Under a multidiscplinary perspective, the book examines the contribution of some creative regions and cities as places in which processes of transformation, innovation and growth are activated in response to external pressures. Through different theoretical frameworks and empirical investigations and suggesting a critical discussion of the notion of resilience, the authors argue that cultural and creative resources may offer a sustainable model in order to afford different typologies of shocks. The book will appeal scholars of regional and urban science and cultural and creative economies and will open up a number of considerations for policy makers. This volume was originally published as a special issue of European Planning Studies.