This article examines the role of creativity in Hamburg's urban-development dynamics and social movements. In particular, three 'mega-projects' are discussed - Iba (the construction Expo), the Hafen City, and the renewal of the Gängeviertel - focusing on how the city government is using the concept of creativity to boost urban economic growth. This strategy has met varied reactions from the urban movements united under the Lefebvrian 'right to the city' banner. While some groups reject the creativity discourse as inherently tied to profit motives, others use it in turn to establish and defend 'spaces of hope'. By highlighting the innate contradictions in the concept of creativity, the article thus shows the potential and the risks in both strategies.