The essential role of place within the creative industries: Boundaries, networks and play

This paper examines the role of place and spatial boundaries for the creative industries. Evidence from interviews with 70 workers in the advertising industry in London reveals the importance of geographical clustering for workers in this sector despite the potential of digital technologies. Creative firms are embedded in place, where the importance of urban aesthetics and social networks leads to tight geographic clustering. The aim of this paper is (i) to explore how and why geography matters for workers in the ‘new’ or ‘changing’ economy and (ii) how this creates a shared identity between creative workers. The article concludes that despite technological breakthroughs that have caused the death of distance, it turns out that geography is still important.

► Provides an empirical examination of the role of place for creative industries in London.
► Examines why geography matters for workers despite information and communication technologies (ICTs).
► Discusses the importance of urban aesthetics and ‘feel’ for stimulating creativity.
► Documents the essential role of proximity and place-based face-to-face networking.