"Athens" Creative Economy and Urban Space

Creative individuals have been seen as key agents of urban regeneration in the age of the new/creative economy and the idea of developing ‘creative clusters’ for these individuals has been seen as policy for urban economic and cultural development. But, what makes one place more attractive to creative enterprises and activities than another? How is the spatial behavior of creative entrepreneurs formed? This study focuses on the dynamics which affect the relationship between creative enterprises and their spatial context. The spatial clustering of (creative) industries is traditionally explained by agglomeration economies benefiting co-located firms and urban amenities that attract creative people to certain cities. A wide literature has attempted to explain the general characteristics of ‘creative places’ by focusing on firms rather than people. Nevertheless, there is still little knowledge of the perceived attributes of a location by those creative individuals and the micro-interactions that occur especially at the micro-city level of clustering. By conducting interviews with creative entrepreneurs in the city center of Athens, this qualitative study attempts to investigate the perceived attractiveness of a location and how those creative entrepreneurs choose and evaluate this location, by assessing the relative importance of different location determinants.