Richard Florida

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Richard Florida is the Hirst Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University. He is best known for his work in developing his concept of the creative class and its ramifications in urban regeneration. He is the author of the bestselling book The Rise of the Creative Class and its successor The Flight of the Creative Class. He received a PhD from Columbia University in 1986 and taught at Carnegie Mellon University from 1987 to 2005.

1 Views and Controversy
2 Partial bibliography
3 Critical articles on Florida
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Views and Controversy

Florida's theory asserts that metropolitan regions with high concentrations of high-tech workers, artists, musicians, gay men, and a group he describes as "high bohemians", correlate with a higher level of economic development than in cities and regions that are lacking these. He suggests that attracting and retaining high-quality talent -- rather than building large job-creation infrastructure projects such as sports stadiums, iconic buildings, shopping centres -- would be a better primary use of a city's regeneration resources for long-term prosperity.

Florida has devised his own ranking systems that rate cities by a "bohemian index," a "gay index," a "diversity index" and other similar categories. His conclusions are partly based on the results from these indices.

Florida's theories are the source of both praise and controversy. Florida has been attacked by all sides of the political spectrum, and by both academics and journalists. His ideas have also proved to be influential on those heading regeneration in cities in the USA and Europe.

Researchers have critiqued Florida's work for shortcomings in its methodology. Terry Nichols Clark (University of Chicago) has used Florida's own data-sets to question the much-touted correlation between the presence of significant numbers of gay men in a city and the presence of high-technology knowledge industries.

His critics have questioned Florida's empirical evidence, suggesting his observed correlations may be spurious, overly simplistic, or even that the official Standard Occupational Classification System data-sets he uses may be questionable. Florida has replied, at length, to many of his critics.

Florida's first book, The Rise of the Creative Class (which was followed by a 'prequel', that provided more in-depth data to support his findings, Cities and the Creative Class) came at the tail of the dot-com boom. Some critics have said that the conditions it describes may no longer exist. However, with the rise of Google, the juggernauts of Web 2.0, and the constant call from business leaders (often seen in publications such as Business 2.0) for a more creative, as well as skilled, workforce, his supporters state that one can easily perceive the contemporary relevance of Florida's research.

In his sequel book, The Flight of the Creative Class, Florida argues that the health and growth of the U.S. "creative class" is threatened because potential immigrants to the United States cannot easily obtain entry-permits post 9/11. He also cites an alleged rise in prejudice and bigotry in parts of the USA, after the 2004 re-election of George W. Bush.

[edit] Partial bibliography

Florida, Richard (2005). The Flight of the Creative Class. The New Global Competition for Talent. HarperBusiness, HarperCollins.

Florida, Richard (2005). Cities and the Creative Class. Routledge.

Florida, Richard (2002). The Rise of the Creative Class. And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure and Everyday Life. Basic Books.

Branscomb, Lewis & Kodama, Fumio & Florida, Richard (1999). Industrializing Knowledge: University-Industry Linkages in Japan and the United States. MIT Press.