At the LSE, Levi researched the implications of an increasingly digitalized age on the symbolic economy of creative cities (cities that follow the 'creative city' paradigm in their policy planning and brand management, i.e. Tel Aviv, Amsterdam, Berlin). Based on months of field work in Tel Aviv, Levi's M.Sc. dissertation, which was marked with distinction, lays out the ways in which a new media ecology within creative cities enables local artists to represent their cities through their personal, often socially and politically motivated lenses, and considers the sociopolitical and economic implications of these findings. 

Levi's research finds that the advent of social media and the 'mediation' of the creative city have yielded an unprecedented influx of urban representations produced by local artists who more often than not identify with minority classes, subcultures and grassroots urban social movements (Castells, 2002); prior to the advent of social media, these artists were far removed from positions of influence and power. Within a new media ecology of cities (academically coined 'new media urbanism'), these previously 'invisible' artists are now able to connect and collaborate through hybrid online/real-life communities known as 'art world networks' (Lesage, 2009), through which they actively engage in non-for-profit cultural productions in line with their identity politics and gain a large social media following. In the case of Tel Aviv in 2014, the agenda of the urban art world network Levi studied was 'to [finally] represent our city, our way' -- that is, through the lens of 'citizen' as opposed to that of 'government' or 'creative industry'. 

Sociopolitical Implications: The above trend, Levi argues, results in political and social empowerment for urban artists, or the 'creative class', in that they have now become "the new 'urban imagineers'" -- the key influencers/shapers of contemporary symbolic economies of (creative) cities. Whereas before the advent of new media urban branding was wholly a top-down practice -- manufactured by industry players and high-ranking government officials with for-profit, tourism-oriented agendas far removed from 'street culture' -- today, urban artists' cultural productions are outnumbering those of industry players in numbers and in audience reach (via new media platforms); rendering urban artists a highly sought-after group by cities and local creative industries. In fact, Levi's research findings indicate that the more active a local artist in 'virtual space', in collaboration with other local artists, the more of a social media following they acquire, and the greater the chance they would gain the reputation of local 'cultural expert'; opening doors to different cultural and artistic fields in politics and industry alike.  As is further illuminated by Levi's research, individual urban artists belonging to art world networks often exploit their newly-found power positions as professional consultants for their city, or full-time workers in urban creative industries and municipalities. Having 'infiltrated' industry and municipality, the artists tactically shape urban and cultural policy planning to serve their otherwise 'minority' sociopolitical agendas, while disseminating their cultural productions in the local symbolic economy. Levi's research findings reveal that even when these artists reach high positions of power in urban policy planning, urban branding and creative industries, they make it a point to remain consciences of "not being 'exploited'"; to quote some of the local artists interviewed, keeping personal politics in mind while "making decisions" is "always a priority [for us]". 

By unpacking the ways in which the creative class is 'subcultural' in nature and discovering their aforementioned subversive 'power tactics' within capitalism, Levi's dissertation is one of the few pieces of research that argues the creative class is in fact counter-cultural -- as opposed to the more traditional conception of the creative class as a wholly capitalist, socially "dangerous", gentrifying force. Where 'creative cities' in social-democratic societies are concerned -- whose policy planning and allotment of resources are more socially and culturally-oriented than those within capitalism (i.e. within the European Union -- Amsterdam being the exemplary case of these cities) --these findings support the need to best nurture local artists in terms of living conditions, grants and professional opportunities, etc. to foster their cultural and sociopolitical contributions to the general community. These processes, of course, have also been shown to yield economic gains in tourism and the 'city brand'. 

Economic Implications & Suggestions: Indeed, municipalities and governments, in cooperation with creative industries, are increasingly realizing the economic 'value' of the creative class in supporting national and local tourism industries. As an increasingly globalized economy continues to standardize cultural forms and blur the lines between the local and global, the 'uniqueness' of space and place becomes increasingly difficult to identify and to defend. On top of that, high-density cultural exchange enabled by globalization has led cities to become, in many ways, 'the new nation-states', for a contemporary global economy values the exponential growth of creativity and innovation that results from a city's population density, multiculturalism, and the rise of the networked society (Castells, 2005); as two-way information communication technologies continue to evolve and enable the flow and exchange of ideas. As such, local tourism industries have been allotting significant resources towards re-branding themselves. The 'creative city paradigm' is a much sought-after and increasingly adopted paradigm for nation-states and cities alike to (re)brand the cities shaped by  the above conditions. In light of all of this, Levi's research findings yield a number of suggestions for ministries of tourism, municipalities, governments and creative industries involved in the branding of cities: 

• Tourism industries in developed nation-states should indeed focus a large portion of their resources on urban branding; it is recommended they adopt the 'creative city paradigm' where applicable (adopting this paradigm for young, developing cities with budding youth culture, artistry, urban social movements and politics, etc. is an proven model for economic growth for tourism and urban development in tandem).  

• In order to resolve the issue of the standardization of culture resulting from the aforementioned effects of an increasingly globalized age, players involved in urban branding are recommended to conduct deep ethnographic research of their respective cities' grassroots cultures in order to best understand what differentiates their (creative) city from others. Levi recommends the following be observed and analyzed:  

  • The city's local art world networks (examining their online communities and their real-life practices; their cultural productions/practices of representation; their political discourse; everyday practices; the cultural productions/artworks themselves with special attention to aesthetics (genre, medium, form) and the productions' content/messages (politics) 

  • Sociopolitical power struggles within the given city, and the city's USM's (urban social movements) 

  • A city's youth culture, urban subcultures

• These, Levi argues, will best inform strategy for urban branding, namely in emerging creative cities. These guidelines can be adopted by tourism industries, creative industries, local and national governments, and any other for-profit players involved in shaping the symbolic economy of any given city.  

Levi, Snir. "'Creative Class, Active Audience': How A New Media Environment Informs And Facilitates Identity Politics In Tel Aviv's Creative Class." Diss. London School of Economics and Political Science, 2014. Print.