Table Of ContentAdvances in Asian Human-Environmental Research
Jinliao He
Creative Industry
Districts
An Analysis of Dynamics, Networks
and Implications on Creative Clusters
in Shanghai
Creative Industry Districts
Advances in Asian Human-Environmental Research
Series Editor
Prof. Marcus Nüsser
South Asia Institute, University of Heidelberg, Germany
Editorial Board
Prof. Eckart Ehlers, University of Bonn, Germany
Prof. Harjit Singh, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
Prof. Hermann Kreutzmann, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Prof. Ken Hewitt, Waterloo University, Canada
Prof. Urs Wiesmann, University of Bern, Switzerland
Prof. Sarah J. Halvorson, University of Montana, USA
Dr. Daanish Mustafa, King’s College London, UK
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Jinliao He
Creative Industry Districts
An Analysis of Dynamics, Networks
and Implications on Creative Clusters
in Shanghai
Jinliao He
Department of Human Geography
University of Heidelberg Geographical
Institute
Heidelberg , Germany
ISSN 1879-7180 ISSN 1879-7199 (electronic)
ISBN 978-3-319-01975-8 ISBN 978-3-319-01976-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-01976-5
Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
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Foreword
The PhD study of Jinliao He represents one of the fi rst empirical studies in English
on the development of creative industries (CI) in China by a Chinese scientist.
Jinliao He arrived in Germany with the idea of an economic geographical study on
networks and models in the Shanghai area. After several discussions he developed
a research proposal which combines economic and urban geography. His main
research question is how the more technically oriented CI on the one hand and the
more design-oriented CI on the other hand are embedded in the spatial urban envi-
ronment. He found numerous similarities between the Chinese and the Western type
of development and also several interesting differences (i.e., the importance of
“Guanxi”). In seven chapters he spreads out a rich and colorful study on the rapid
and fascinating development of one of the most successful Chinese megacities.
University of Heidelberg Prof. Dr. Hans Gebhardt
Heidelberg, Germany
v
Pref ace
As one of “80ers,” I have grown up with the rapid rise of China over the past three
decades. Today, the country has reached crossroads in terms of economic and social
reconstruction. More and more people realize that maintaining the current status as
the “world’s manufacturing factory” will cause China to lose its advantage in the
global economy, due to the rising costs of labor and resources, as well as the depre-
dating environmental effects. Great attention has been paid to “China in transition,”
including the recent discussion on “made in China” toward “created in China.” The
question remains how to achieve this. Challenges can be seen everywhere, e.g.,
overreliance on the traditional development mode, the defective “gene” hindering
political innovation, and the cultural and economic systems existing in China. These
pressing questions fi nally motivated me to choose the topic “creative industry districts
in Shanghai” for my PhD dissertation 4 years ago.
As a Chinese researcher in Human Geography, I challenged myself by not
adhering to the so-called mainstream theories of “creative studies” established in
Western society, though all of which are fundamentals. Rather, I applied the new
approaches from both new economic geography and urban studies within a
particular socioeconomic context of China. This brought me to the discussion of
some areas that have been scarcely explored, such as examination of the relevance
of Guanxi networks with spatial economy. This work is therefore expected to
contribute to some initial questions on a wider discourse of spatial studies of
creative industries in China and possible fi ndings on urban redevelopment and
transformation responding to the rapid rise of the creative economy.
However, nothing could have been achieved without the following support and
contributions.
I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my supervisor Prof. Dr. Hans
Gebhardt for his guidance throughout the entire program and for welcoming and
supporting my research with an open door. Special thanks are also given to Prof.
Dr. Peter Meusburger, University of Heidelberg, and Prof. Dr. Robert Hassink,
University of Kiel, who provided some crucial suggestions for my work. I also
appreciate the comments from Dr. Annika Mattissek, Dr. Klaus Sachs, Prof.
Dr. Johannes Glückler, and Prof. Dr. Harald Bathelt at the beginning of my research.
vii
viii Preface
In this study, several rounds of fi eld investigations were carried out. They would
not have been nearly as effi cient without the assistance from the survey groups in
Shanghai and Nanjing, made up of Wang Yun, Wang Yanjun, Lin Xiaoling, Wang
Mengke, Cheng Yixin, Xu Mengye, and Qian Lei.
I am grateful to Sima Gatea for her care in editing this book for language and
style. A special thank of mine also goes out to my colleagues who helped me with
my studies and overall life in Heidelberg. They are Thomas Bonn, Matthias Burs,
Diana Griesinger, Iris Belle, Henning Götz, Guo Jie, Li Ming, Sun Yeran, Leila
Mousa, Julia Rösch, Thilo Wiertz, Holger Köppe, Mehdi Ebadi-Zahmatkesh, and
Warangkana Thawornwiriyatrakul (Pink).
Financially, this study is supported by the Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC),
the Excellence Initiative of the University of Heidelberg, and Die Kurt-Hiehle-
Stiftung Heidelberg. I sincerely appreciate all contributions and support.
Heidelberg, Germany Jinliao He
June 29, 2013
Contents
1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 1
References ................................................................................................... 4
2 From the New Economy to Creative City ................................................ 5
2.1 Linking the New Economy and Geography Considers ...................... 5
2.1.1 Emergence and Shift of the New Economy
in the Postindustrial Era ......................................................... 6
2.1.2 Does Geography Matter in the New Economy? .................... 6
2.1.3 The Relationship Between Geography
and the Creative Economy ..................................................... 7
2.2 Creative Industries ............................................................................. 10
2.2.1 Defi ning Creative Industries .................................................. 10
2.2.2 Attributes of Creative Industries ............................................ 14
2.2.3 Overview of the World Creative Industries ............................ 17
2.3 Districts or Clusters of Creative Industries ........................................ 19
2.3.1 Theories of Industrial District and Cluster ............................. 19
2.3.2 Creative Clusters .................................................................... 26
2.4 Creative Cities .................................................................................... 31
2.4.1 Creative Milieus in Urban Spaces .......................................... 31
2.4.2 Impacts of Creative Clusters on Urban Regeneration ............ 33
2.4.3 Imaginary of Creative Cities .................................................. 34
References .................................................................................................. 36
3 Characterizing Shanghai’s Creative Industries and Districts ............... 43
3.1 Background and Development of Creative
Industries in China ............................................................................. 43
3.1.1 Functional Transformation of Key Cities
in Coastal China ..................................................................... 44
3.1.2 Park-Zone Economic Model in China ................................... 45
3.1.3 Overview of the Creative Industries in China ........................ 46
ix
