Building on Peter Drucker's concept of the "Knowledge Worker," Richard Florida brings us "The Creative Class." This book uses research to show how economically and culturally vibrant areas have the following factors:
* Talent (Educated and Creative Workers)
* Technology (Through Major Research Universities)
* Tolerance (For Difference and New Ideas)
Since innovation is the new holy grail of economics, creative areas are the most prosperous. Florida's top ten creative class cities in order are: Austin, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Raleigh-Durham, Portland OR, Minneapolis, Washington D.C., Sacramento, Denver. He considers 38 million worker, or 30% of the workforce, to be creative class workers. Creative class jobs include engineering, computer science, education, arts, design, and entertainment.
These cities tend to value creative self-expression, diversity, vibrant street life, ethnic foods, artists, entrepreneurs, bike paths, nature, risk taking, modernity, open communication, bohemia, and authenticity. Creative class workers tend to have many informal social ties, and their work requires creativity, change, flexibility and speed. (Creative people work many hours. I can attest to this.)
Perhaps I like this book because it ranks my city, Minneapolis, #7. And I like visiting the other highly ranked cites. Certainly the book has a class orientation from the get-go, and I can see how this concept can be offensive. The book could also be considered an assault against traditional values. Nevertheless, this is one of my favorite books and it all makes sense to me. For one thing, it helped me understand why I like where I live.
An interesting follow-up would be to measure the happiest cities.
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| The New Urban Crisis | Who's Your City? | |
| Customer Reviews |
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| Price | $10.53 | $13.33 |
| Explore the Works of Richard Florida | A bracingly original work of research and analysis, The New Urban Crisis offers a compelling diagnosis of our economic ills and a bold prescription for more inclusive cities capable of ensuring growth and prosperity for all. | In the age of globalization, some claim that where you live doesn’t matter: Alaska, Idaho, and Alabama are interchangeable. The world is, after all, flat. |
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