Cities and the creative class

Richard L. Florida

Routledge, 2005 - Business & Economics - 198 pages

In his compelling follow-up toThe Rise of the Creative Class, Richard Florida outlines how certain cities succeed in attracting members of the "creative class"--the millions of people who work in information-age economic sectors and in industries driven by innovation and talent. Cities that succeed, Florida argues, are those that are able to attract and retain creative class members. They don't do this through the traditional strategies of tax incentives, suburban housing developments, and loose regulation, though; creative class members don't care about those details. Rather, they care about amenities and tolerance, and are drawn to cities with thriving bohemias and large gay populations. It is no coincidence, Florida asserts, that places likes Austin and San Francisco with their highly publicized open-mindedness and bohemia are at the forefront of the new economy, while cities like Detroit, in contrast, can't succeed unless they actively become a magnet for the creative class. To prove hispoint, Florida presents a mass of information on the cities he cites, both thriving and failing cities, including gay and bohemian indices. Focusing on the economic geography of place, Florida explains lays out what cities need to do to have a chance at success.

What people are saying

Review: Cities and the Creative Class

User Review  - Madeline - Goodreads

obviously useful approach to post-industrial urban theory, but the whole time i could not help but think this guy was talking about the young, white, good-looking, intelligentsia. his definition of diversity is problematic as well.

Review: Cities and the Creative Class

User Review  - Ben Williams - Goodreads

I really enjoyed the premise of the book. I had never thought of creativity as an economic driver, and Florida makes a decent case. However, I feel like it may be a chicken-and-the-egg sort of problem ...

About the author

Author of the bestselling "The Rise of the Creative Class" and "Who's Your City?" Richard Florida is a regular columnist for "The Atlantic". He has written for the "New York Times", the "Wall Street Journal", "The Economist", and other publications. His multiple awards and accolades include the "Harvard Business Review"'s Breakthrough Idea of the Year. He was named one of "Esquire" magazine's Best and Brightest (2005) and one of "BusinessWeek"'s Voices of Innovation (2006). He lives in Toronto, Canada.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Cities and the creative class
• Author: Richard L. Florida
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Routledge, 2005
• ISBN: 0415948878, 9780415948876
• Length: 198 pages
• Subjects: Business & Economics / Economics / General; Business & Economics / Finance; Business & Economics / Public Finance; Business & Economics / Urban & Regional; City and town life; City dwellers; Creative ability; Creative ability - Economic aspects; Economic geography; Professional employees; Social Science / Sociology / General; Social Science / Sociology / Urban