>The American Prospect, in its current issue has a story debunking myths about the creative class and reports how many communities have been duped by economist Richard Florida.
The gist of the story is that all the touting that was done about making cities desirable was wishful thinking at best and now scandalous to cities that are "so far gone" that they will never rebound. Florida goes as far as to say that the focus should be on locations that are already thriving.
Here's an except:
As Elmira and other cities on Florida's circuit dutifully carry out his instructions, though, the guru has grown less confident in their prospects. In a warm-up to his next book--The Great Reset, due out in April--Florida has been arguing that the recession has so decimated many cities and regions that it's time for the country to cut its losses and instead encourage growth in places that are prospering, like Silicon Valley, Boulder, Austin, and North Carolina's Research Triangle. And the rest? In his much-cited cover story in the March issue of The Atlantic--"How the Crash Will Reshape America"--he delivered the harsh news: "We need to be clear that ultimately, we can't stop the decline of some places, and that we would be foolish to try. ... Different eras favor different places, along with the industries and lifestyles those places embody. ... We need to let demand for the key products and lifestyles of the old order fall, and begin building a new economy, based on a new geography."
Dayton is mentioned in the article, as is DaytonCreate and c{space. A quote by our former mayor makes you wonder whether she actually understood the creative class at all:
Across the country, the battle to attract the creative class carries on. In Dayton, Ohio, billboards and T-shirts carry a new Richard Florida-inspired logo: "Dayton patented. Originals wanted." The city is building bikeways, passed an anti-discrimination ordinance in 2007 to increase its score on Florida's "tolerance index," and has given a local group called DaytonCREATE the use of a vacant bank, now called "c{space," "where they hang out and do a lot of their creativeness," Mayor Rhine McLin says.
A lot of good has come from efforts to retain and attract young professionals and the creative class. We're certainly not going to bring large industry into the community and leaders have talked about growing small and mid-size local businesses as a strategy. I hope there's more than one strategy and that we haven't put all of our eggs in one basket.
Were we sold an unrealizable dream?
