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Abstract

Creative communities are increasingly integrated into urban tourism, yet their environmental performance remains underexplored. To address this gap, this study introduces the Creative Cluster Environmental Performance Index (CCEPI), a novel composite socio-ecological assessment tool for integrating environmental performance into creative tourism planning and governance. This study employed a qualitative socio-spatial design Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analysis and policy review (2021 to 2023). The framework is applied to evaluate environmental performance across five creative clusters in Surakarta, Indonesia: Laweyan, Kauman, Pasar Gede, Sudiroprajan, and Alun-Alun Kidul. The CCEPI integrates ten indicators across five creative clusters in Surakarta, Indonesia: Pasar Gede, Alun-Alun Kidul, Laweyan, Kauman, and Sudiroprajan, with weighted scores validated through theoretical justification, methodological triangulation, member checking, and peer debriefing. Spatial analysis uneven institutional visibility and infrastructural integration among clusters. The CCEPI scores ranged from 39.4 in Pasar Gede to 75.6 in Alun-Alun Kidul, reflecting marked variation in the environmental performance of Surakarta's creative clusters. Production-based batik villages exhibited dense morphology and localized environmental pressure from proximity to wastewater, with CCEPI scores of both areas reached 42.5. The findings indicate that stronger tourism integration was associated with greater environmental pressure where governance capacity lagged behind tourism development, highlighting the importance of effective resource and environmental management. This study revealed three key findings: (1) Morphology determines baseline environmental performance, (2) Tourism economic success without commensurate environmental governance produces the greatest ecological burden, and (3) Governance selectivity produces environmental inequality. This study found that environmental performance in creative clusters is shaped by spatial morphology, tourism integration, and institutional support. These findings underpin the CCEPI and SCE for integrating environmental performance into creative tourism planning. This study identifies spatial, tourism, and governance factors as key drivers of environmental performance and proposes the CCEPI and SCE framework for integrating environmental considerations into creative tourism planning.

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