The Attractiveness of Moving to a Creative Cluster.

The “creative class” theory has received considerable attention over the past decade, which academic scholars and urban policymakers questioned about its relevance for urban economic growth. The creative individuals have been thought of as agents of urban regeneration in the age of innovation-driven creative economy. Remarkably, several “soft” factors such as cultural amenities, tolerance and openness have been argued to be important elements for attracting and retaining the creative class in city. Meanwhile, the idea of developing “creative cluster” for these creative individuals has been seen as a new way to stimulate creativity, simultaneously contribute to economic and cultural development in city. The main purpose of this paper is to empirically analyze the extent to which the “soft” factors play more important roles than “hard” factors for attracting creative individuals to converge in a creative cluster. The background of this paper on creative cluster analysis and the findings are based in the creative cluster – Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre (JCCAC), in the city of Hong Kong. This line of research may enable a better understanding of the “hard” and “soft” factors that attract creative individuals to locate in creative clusters.