This link has been bookmarked by 2 people . It was first bookmarked on 06 Aug 2008, by Yule Heibel.
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15 Dec 10
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For all their good intentions, Florida's recommendations are highly susceptible to spin. In Vancouver, Florida-inspired ideas have led to plans to develop a "cultural precinct," while overlooking systemic issues of housing affordability and lack of workspaces for local artists.
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As cities attempt to sell themselves as hipster havens, the diversity Florida prizes stands in danger of being washed away in a sea of expensive haircuts and Blackberries. Unfortunately, "creative" investment inevitably leads to gentrification. While revitalizing economically depressed neighbourhoods is a desirable goal, it tends to displace and exclude the very people in need of help.
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As a work of popular sociology, The Rise of the Creative Class was a bestselling success. But as a body of academic research, Florida's breakthrough book invites serious criticism, both for its ideological implications and its methodology. In seeking to bring the insights of the academy down to the people who need them most, Florida writes in a voice that doesn't quite satisfy either party. The result is a mishmash of cultural observations and spurious economic theory, which largely ignores the majority of the world, which lacks the resources or opportunities to cash in on the creative utopia.
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a "self-help book." The prophet has become a televangelist.
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Florida explains that people are now in pursuit of something more intangible than a salary increase: a place that fits with who they are.
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Florida analyzes the desirability of American cities based on standard criteria, including the job market, education, safety and housing prices. But these are merely the building blocks of an outstanding city. The next level of distinction, then, relates to a city's social fabric -- how it ranks in terms of tolerance, diversity and connectivity.
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Whereas his earlier work was aimed at those who could claim membership in the creative class, the target audience notably expands with this book. In an effort to be more inclusive, Florida redefines what he means by the creative class. It's actually not a class after all: everyone is inherently creative, whether they're a retired assembly-line worker or a 20-something gay programmer. The key to unlocking this latent creativity is location. Given the right place to live, everyone is capable of exercising their authenticity and participating in both society and the economy in creative ways. In order to help people from all walks of life find their rightful home, Florida uses five different sets of data, providing specific city rankings for singles, professionals, families with children, empty-nesters and retirees.
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Here lies the central problem with Florida's gospel: he's preaching to the converted. Those who have the resources and the mobility to relocate on a whim don't need his help.
Rather than thinking of ways for privileged North Americans to squeeze even more satisfaction and material comfort out of life, Florida's energy would be better spent examining how to include the 5.2 billion people living outside the mega-regions in the global economy. Such issues present mere asides for Florida, who refuses to challenge economic orthodoxy and simply reiterates the growth and progress script.
Even for those living in a highly productive mega-region, the picture isn't as rosy as it first appears. Florida explains that the most successful cities will "increasingly be inhabited by a core of wealthy and highly mobile workers leading highly privileged lives, catered to by an underclass of service workers living farther and farther away." On both an international and an urban scale, human society is becoming intensely stratified.
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Florida speaks about being "rooted" in place as predominantly negative, a consequence of inadequate opportunity. "Staying put" is only for those who can't afford to move, or those who still hold the outmoded belief that living near friends and family is a central component of basic happiness. This begs the question of how to create healthy communities when everyone is constantly on the move in pursuit of greener pastures.
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At a certain point investment in culture isn't enough -- cities require long-term, sustainable planning in order to prosper and meet the needs of all their inhabitants. As old-fashioned as it may be, these problems are best faced by those who have an enduring commitment to where they live, who intend to stay there and work to make things better even when conditions aren't ideal.
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books like Who's Your City? merely reiterate the blind gospel of prosperity.
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