Creative industries in Indonesia: a socio-spatial exploration of three kampongs in Bandung

Several studies on creative industries (CIs) have investigated the impact of CIs on the social and economic development of cities, regions or countries in the Global South. In Indonesia, past research has focussed on CIs’ impact on national economic development and their network processes and effects. Few studies have examined the role of creative kampongs at a local scale, especially the multi-dimensional aspects of the socio-spatial processes of kampongs hosting CIs. Our contribution seeks to answer the question: how has the spatiality of the kampongs that host CIs in Bandung changed since the start of the 2009 Creative Economy national policy? Focussing on the city-region as the central concept, we apply socio-spatial analytics to explore the social and spatial dimensions of this phenomenon as well as its policy arrangements. In terms of city-region conformation process, each of the three cases selected reveal the presence of different spatial strategies and social dynamics patterns, emerging from a variety of factors. The different origins of the kampongs, the impact of their creative economy identities, and the role of the communities and community-related actors in their development play core roles in their development.