Increasingly popular lists that judge cities on "liveability" and "quality of life" are dangerous for the future development of our metropoles, says Sam Jacob, professor of architecture at University of Illinois at Chicago, in the article Cities that score well barely qualify as cities from Dezeen magazine.

Our learning city journey began at the former city of Thuringowa in 2005 with strong support from the Chief Executive Officer, who asked the Library to provide leadership in the development of a learning community. At council level, Thuringowa City Council in its Corporate Plan 2005-2010 adopted a strategy “To develop Thuringowa as a learning community”.

The Hume Learning City Library at Craigieburn has been  named the International Public Library of the Year by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions at the World Library and Information Congress in Lyon France.Craigieburn is the second Global Learning Centre developed by Hume City Council in Melbourne Australia with the LIbrary the centrepiece of the Centre.

There has been considerable development of the concept of the Learning City in recent years as cities have sought to address a myriad of challenges. This has usually involved in successful cases a good deal of innovation ,at times with entrepreneurial initiatives, particularly in social areas and with partners such as universities.

The Creative Economy in Illinois has been released by Arts Alliance Illinois.  The report was prepared by Northern Illinois University's Center for Governmental Studies.  This research was done through Governor Pat Quinn's Illinois Creative Economy Initiative.