CREATIVE WORKERS’ SENSE OF PLACE ASSOCIATED WITH CULTURAL CREATIVE CLUSTERS：A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

This study presents a systematic literature review exploring the relationship between creative workers’ sense of place (SoP) and the development of Cultural and Creative Clusters (CCCs). While CCCs are widely recognized for their role in driving innovation and urban economic growth, limited research has examined how SoP, comprising place attachment, place identity, and place dependence, influences both the career trajectories of creative professionals and the sustainability of CCCs. SoP shapes creative workers’ professional identity, sense of belonging, and collaborative engagement, while simultaneously enhancing the cultural distinctiveness, attractiveness, and resilience of CCCs. To investigate this relationship, the study reviewed 62 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2015 and 2024. The synthesis reveals that high-quality built environments, inclusive social settings, and culturally rich urban experiences significantly enhance creative workers’ engagement, satisfaction, and long-term commitment to place. Additionally, local heritage and urban identity are shown to play a pivotal role in shaping the global competitiveness of CCCs. The study proposes a three-dimensional conceptual framework linking SoP with creative industry agglomeration, offering new insights into how emotional, cultural, and functional place-based factors influence the spatial behavior of creative workers. The findings underscore the importance of integrating SoP into urban planning and cultural policy to attract and retain creative talent, strengthen place-based cultural ecosystems, and support the sustainable evolution of CCCs. This research contributes to the growing discourse on creative urbanism by bridging human-place relationships with cultural cluster development.