Abstract
Over the past two decades creative industries have been seen as a lever for economic growth
in the knowledge economy and catalyst for urban economic growth and regeneration. Despite
ambiguity on defining creative industries the concept of creative industries spread globally in
the 2000s. The uptake of creative industries globally was given considerable impetus by the
emergence and popularisation during the early 2000s of the concepts of the ‘creative city’ and
the ‘creative class’, which unleashed a wave of scholarly investigations about creative
industries and urban development. Despite the international importance of creative industries
for urban researchers, it is significant that recent reviews of research relating to urban
geographical studies in South Africa give only marginal attention to issues around creative
industries. The purpose of this research is to address this important knowledge gap in urban
geographical studies of Johannesburg.
The study has three major objectives. First, this study seeks to analyse the size, structure and
spatial organisation of creative industries in Johannesburg. Second, it aims to examine the
organisational profile and key challenges facing creative businesses in central Johannesburg.
Third, the research explores the impact and potential of creative industries for urban
regeneration in central Johannesburg. The research demonstrates that creative industries are a
significant segment of the service economy of South Africa’s most economically important
city. In terms of structure of creative industries economy of Johannesburg the study points to
the dominance of the segment of creative services. Spatially it was found that an uneven
geography of creative industries exist across the city. The study disclosed that the greatest
concentrations of creative industries occur in Sandton, Randburg and across the city’s Northern
suburbs. It was disclosed, however, that there are different geographies for the different
segments of creative industries. Some of the major industry challenges for creative industries
in Johannesburg are accessing financial resources, accessing the correct space to operate in and
accessing a market for creative goods and services. Location factors influencing creative
industries in the inner city showed that creative businesses tend to choose a location based on
its accessibility, diversity, affordability, proximity, trendiness and safety...
M.A. (Geography)