Creativity in Time and Space

In English The focus of attention in this article is that of milieux as forges for creativity and renewal. Among the milieux presented are places, corporations and research institutions. The renewal discussed here includes art, architecture, music and literature as well as science and technology. The goal of this article is to identify characteristics of importance in environments where exceptionally creative individuals develop and make their abilities visible. Individual lives are illustrated through the biographies of Nobel laureates. Their stories reveal the importance of geographic mobility, the patterns of contact for various creative processes, and show how a small number of biographical sketches can reflect changes in society at large. To avoid drowning in wordy descriptions, the observations garnered from various biographies have been systematized with the aid of a few simple time-geography diagrams.