SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF CREATIVE SECTORS: EVIDENCE FROM THE METROPOLITAN CITY OF ROME

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the location patterns of creative sectors in the Metropolitan City of Rome. The spatial distribution of firms is studied by utilising spatially referenced point data as input to a statistical model based on Ripley’s K-function. Pairwise differences between K-functions of observed point patterns are computed and compared with simulated confidence bands. A null hypothesis of random labelling is tested upon two conditions: by analysing the spatial distribution of different creative sectors with respect to the rest of creative activities and by comparing, for each creative category, localization patterns of core creative firms with respect to the localization of respective service functions. The empirical analysis showed that creative sectors have highly different spatial behaviours, depending on their characteristics and their level of interaction with the urban milieu. In general, core creative activities in have the tendency to cluster in space at small distances (up to 20 – 40 kilometres) while the respective service sectors are dispersed internally and disposed around the core.