The Role of Local Administrative Organizations on Making Creative Cities: A Case Study of Ranong Provincial Administrative Organization

Abstract

This research is aimed at: (1) researching the history of Ranong Province’s natural resources and cultural; (2) studying the Ranong Provincial Administrative Organization’s management plan of Ranong’s development towards a creative city; and (3) investigating into problems of and obstacles to creative city development the Ranong Provincial Administrative Organization has been facing. This research is based on a qualitative method, analyzing data from both primary and secondary sources. The primary data were obtained from the interviews with three groups of interviewees selected from those who truly experienced in creative city building effort, those who are interesting from the researcher’s of view, and those who are representing this typical case, namely governmental sector, officials and executives of the Ranong Provincial Administrative Organization, and private sector and civil society, respectively. The secondary data were gathered from relevant documents. An Analytic Induction method was used to analyze both data, combined with the concepts of Creative City and Patriots, in order to obtain salient points of Ranong’s creative city development guidelines.

The research results revealed the following: 1. Ranong Province has possessed invaluable resources to be used as significant resource capitals for sustainable development in five areas, i.e. historical capital, strategic location, national resources and environment, social and cultural capital, and creative entrepreneurship; 2.The Ranong Provincial Administrative Organization has emphasized on developing the youth to be creative and promoted different localities to conduct creative activities suitable to their circumstances and contexts.  3. With regard to problems and obstacles, the Ranong Provincial Administrative Organization has difficulties concerning insufficient authorities of executing its creative city project, and the lack of coordinating with other agencies and connecting with several sectors. Fortunately, the Ranong Provincial Administrative Organization has private sectors and civil societies as localists who have been able to utilize the existing province’s capital resources for developing creative activities, becoming significant mechanical factors for developing Ranong to become the creative city in the future.