A New Class:
I was intrigued by an article found on Metafilter that spectulated that America’s cities owe much of their good and bad fortune to a new societal segment known as the Creative Class, educated upper-middle class young folks whom the post-dot com economy is eager to recruit. The author Richard Florida (who has a book out on the subject) posits that cities like Austin, Chicago and my very own San Francisco are thriving thanks to policies focused on social diversity, high quality of life and respect for the frenetic nature of urban space while cities like Memphis, Las Vegas, and Miami are slipping thanks to their reliance on office parks, strip malls and miles of freeways.
It’s a lovely theory and one I get behind with all my spirit. And yet I hope Mr. Florida addresses the difficulties of running a thriving, diverse city, much less living in one. I’d rank affordable housing at the top which is mentioned exactly nowhere in this piece.
The book’s called The Rise of the Creative Class: and How Its Transforming Work and I’m going to see if I can get ahold of it. I’m in to pop social phenomenon stuff like this, particularly when I dig the conclusion. Meantime, where do you live and how does it rank on the Creative Class scale?
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6 Replies to “A New Class:”
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Professor Florida taught at my grad school and was considered rather ludicrous by many. He relies highly on statistical analysis but doesn’t tend to a bigger picture. His original paper on the subject linked the presence of a thriving gay community to a city’s good fortune. This breaks down in the cases of Miami and Atlanta, cities that were just planned badly to begin with.
Point being– Florida’s research is highly subjective and not yet tested by any rigorous academic review. Provocative and interesting perhaps but not necessarily great scholarship.
Professor Florida taught at my grad school and was considered rather ludicrous by many. He relies highly on statistical analysis but doesn’t tend to a bigger picture. His original paper on the subject linked the presence of a thriving gay community to a city’s good fortune. This breaks down in the cases of Miami and Atlanta, cities that were just planned badly to begin with.
Point being– Florida’s research is highly subjective and not yet tested by any rigorous academic review. Provocative and interesting perhaps but not necessarily great scholarship.
I’d agree with that. And if this piece is any indication, he seems to think entirely in the realm of possibility as opposed to anything that’s actually happened yet.
Nonetheless, I’m still intrigued by the Creative Class Scale. So where do you live and how do you think it ranks?
I’d agree with that. And if this piece is any indication, he seems to think entirely in the realm of possibility as opposed to anything that’s actually happened yet.
Nonetheless, I’m still intrigued by the Creative Class Scale. So where do you live and how do you think it ranks?
I live in DC, and it’s doing all right, but its scale is thrown way the heck off by all the lawyers, politicians and W’s uberconservative posse.
I think I remember the original article. Does anyone remember where it was published?
I live in DC, and it’s doing all right, but its scale is thrown way the heck off by all the lawyers, politicians and W’s uberconservative posse.
I think I remember the original article. Does anyone remember where it was published?