CREATIVE ECONOMY AS A FUNCTIONAL SUBSYSTEM OF THE REGIONAL SOCIO-GEOSYSTEM: STRUCTURE, INTERACTIONS AND EFFECTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17721/2413-7154/2026.95.185-205Keywords:
creative economy, regional socio-geosystem, creative subsystem, functions, effects, regional development, post-war recoveryAbstract
The article addresses the human-geographical conceptualization of the creative economy as a functional subsystem of the regional socio-geosystem. A socio-geosystemic interpretation of the creative economy is substantiated as opposed to the sectoral approach: it is regarded not merely as a set of industries, but as an integration mechanism that permeates all subsystems of the regional socio-geosystem and contributes to their structural modernisation. The structure of the creative subsystem is defined according to a territorial-hierarchical principle: macro-level (creative regions and cities), meso-level (creative clusters and centers), and micro-level (creative hubs and spaces), connected through vertical, horizontal, and diagonal network interactions of a polycentric nature. The bilateral interaction of the subsystem with the demographic, production, social, cultural, infrastructure-service, institutional, ecological, and financial-economic subsystems is described through a system of resource, information-communication, innovation-technological, and cultural-symbolic flows. Eight functions of the subsystem are identified – economic, innovative, socializing, cultural-identification, spatial-transformation, integration, adaption, and sustainable development – together with their corresponding primary (employment, innovations, cultural production, human capital), secondary (spatial transformations, cultural environment, multiplier effect), and strategic effects (image, competitiveness, social resilience, regional identity, sustainable regional development) within a single analytical model. It is argued that in the context of post-war recovery in Ukraine, social resilience and regional identity as strategic effects of the creative economy acquire priority significance, while the European integration vector opens new opportunities for the structural modernization of regions on the basis of sustainable development.
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