Author sees creativity as a societal driving force-”The Rise of the Creative Class,”

You’ve got to hand it to Richard Florida. It’s not easy to write a convincing new
economic and sociological analysis of contemporary American society. But in
”The Rise of the Creative Class,” Florida has done just that. Florida’s book leaves the
reader not just with some interesting ideas but with a new perspective for
understanding our culture.

By Martha E. Mangelsdorf, Globe Correspondent

Creativity is becoming a driving force in American economic life, argues Florida, a
professor of regional economic development at Carnegie Mellon University in
Pittsburgh. Economic assets such as natural resources and physical labor have
become less of a competitive advantage. Meanwhile, ”creativity has come to be valued
– and systems have evolved to encourage and harness it – because new technologies,
new industries, new wealth and all other good economic things flow from it.” Whether
the creative work involves writing software code or music or scientific research papers,
Florida sees it employing an increasing share of the work force.

That, of course, is hardly a new idea; for years now, we have heard about ”knowledge
workers” and the ”Information Economy.” What is noteworthy is Florida’s theory that
this economic shift has created a new societal class – the Creative Class – and his
analysis of how that class is influencing our culture. To hear him tell it, everything from
office design to work schedules, recreational habits, community life, and regional
economic development is being affected by the rise of the Creative Class.

Perhaps the most interesting part of Florida’s book is his take on economic
development. While some view location as less important in today’s virtual economy,
Florida disagrees. Because employees and companies are less loyal to one another
than they used to be, he sees geographic location as a key organizing principle of
today’s economy, as the way that people get matched with jobs. ”Access to talented
and creative people,” Florida writes, ”is to modern business what access to coal and
iron ore was to steelmaking.”

This line of thought has key economic development implications. Instead of just trying
to bring jobs to a region, Florida maintains, communities should focus on creating
environments and amenities that will be attractive to the Creative Class. If a region can
be attractive to creative workers, the theory goes, it will attract and grow the
companies that hire them.

One example? Florida writes that Lycos had its early origins in Carnegie Mellon
technology, and he remembers when the company moved its engineering and
technical offices from Pittsburgh to Boston. ”According to a number of my colleagues
who were close to the situation, the main reason was that Boston offered lifestyle
options that made it much easier to attract top managerial and technical talent,” he
writes.

Florida’s theories are fairly sweeping – and, as a result, readers may find themselves
disagreeing with some aspects of his worldview. For example, he has this to say about
the reasons Creative Class people often work long hours: ”We do it because we long
to work on exciting projects with exciting people. We do it because as creative people,
it is a central part of who we are or want to be.” Maybe. Or maybe the primary reason
so many employees work long hours is another factor that Florida mentions: because
their employers encourage it.

”The Rise of the Creative Class” is well worth reading if you’re seeking a greater
understanding of the sociological and economic changes taking place in our culture
today. You probably won’t agree with everything in the book, but it’s interesting,
provocative, and smart.

The Rise of the Creative Class

By Richard FloridaBasic Books, $27.50, 404 pp.

Martha E. Mangelsdorf ( [email protected]) is a freelance business writer
and editor.

This story ran on page J2 of the Boston Globe on 7/14/2002.

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/195/business/Author_sees_creativity_as_a_societal_driving_force+.shtml