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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | A 'creative class' in South Africa's arid Karoo region |
Author: | Ingle, Mark Knightley |
Year: | 2010 |
Periodical: | Urban Forum (ISSN 1874-6330) |
Volume: | 21 |
Issue: | 4 |
Pages: | 405-423 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | South Africa |
Subjects: | entrepreneurs small enterprises livelihoods rural areas |
External link: | https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12132-010-9095-4 |
Abstract: | There is an increasing number and variety of creative small enterprises in South Africa's desert Karoo region. The Karoo has come to acquire considerable cachet in recent years and is being rebranded as a desirable tourist destination. It has also attracted many well-qualified and experienced migrants from urban areas. This paper draws on mainstream 'lifestyle media' coverage to describe this phenomenon and examines it through a lens informed by Richard Florida's influential work, 'The rise of the creative class'(2002). The concept of the 'creative class' refers to those people who make a living from creative pursuits, including artists, designers and knowledge-based professionals. This paper analyses a sample of entrepreneurs immigrants to the Karoo, and speculates on what informs the recent revisioning of the region. It posits the new rural 'creative class' as a form of social capital and explores some of the implications of this for the socioeconomic upliftment of the Karoo. Bibliogr., sum. [Journal abstract] |