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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Fall of the Creative Class
For a variety of not-very-well-thought-out reasons, this brought us to Madison, Wisconsin. It wasnt too far from our families. It had a stellar reputation. And for the Midwest, it possessed what might pass for cachet. It was liberal and open minded. It was a college town. It had coffee shops and bike shops. Besides, it had been deemed a Creative Class stronghold by Richard Florida, the prophet of prosperous cool. We had no way of knowing how wrong he was about Madison
and about everything.
Floridas idea was a nice one: Young, innovative people move to places that are open and hip and tolerant. They, in turn, generate economic innovation. I loved this idea because, as a freelance writer, it made me important. I was poor, but somehow I made everyone else rich! It seemed to make perfect sense. Madison, by that reasoning, should have been clamoring to have me, since I was one of the mystical bearers of prosperity.
Soon after we arrived, however, I was sitting at my desk wondering where all these creative, self-employed bohemians might be, when I watched an unsettlingly large woman lumber out of the apartment next door. She stood in the sun and blinked like she hadnt seen it in years. It took her an agonizingly long time to shuffle across the parking lot to the dumpster, where she deposited her trash. Then she began the trek back. After the door slammed behind her, I never saw her again. In most parts of America circa 2003, this scene would have been unremarkable. But I couldnt get it out of my mind. It stayed with me and filled me with dread, as if there was some hidden meaning in it; as if the woman was an omen, and her trash bag was filled with my dreams.
<snip>
I know now that this was Floridas true genius: He took our anxiety about place and turned it into a product. He found a way to capitalize on our nagging sense that there is always somewhere out there more creative, more fun, more diverse, more gay, and just plain better than the one where we happen to be.
But Ive been down that road, and I know where it goes. I know that it leads both everywhere and nowhere. I know you could go down it forever and never quite arrive. And I know now that it may be wiser to try to create the place you want to live, rather than to keep trying to find it.
Full essay (~3,800 words): http://thirtytwomag.com/2012/06/the-fall-of-thecreative-class
Floridas idea was a nice one: Young, innovative people move to places that are open and hip and tolerant. They, in turn, generate economic innovation. I loved this idea because, as a freelance writer, it made me important. I was poor, but somehow I made everyone else rich! It seemed to make perfect sense. Madison, by that reasoning, should have been clamoring to have me, since I was one of the mystical bearers of prosperity.
Soon after we arrived, however, I was sitting at my desk wondering where all these creative, self-employed bohemians might be, when I watched an unsettlingly large woman lumber out of the apartment next door. She stood in the sun and blinked like she hadnt seen it in years. It took her an agonizingly long time to shuffle across the parking lot to the dumpster, where she deposited her trash. Then she began the trek back. After the door slammed behind her, I never saw her again. In most parts of America circa 2003, this scene would have been unremarkable. But I couldnt get it out of my mind. It stayed with me and filled me with dread, as if there was some hidden meaning in it; as if the woman was an omen, and her trash bag was filled with my dreams.
<snip>
I know now that this was Floridas true genius: He took our anxiety about place and turned it into a product. He found a way to capitalize on our nagging sense that there is always somewhere out there more creative, more fun, more diverse, more gay, and just plain better than the one where we happen to be.
But Ive been down that road, and I know where it goes. I know that it leads both everywhere and nowhere. I know you could go down it forever and never quite arrive. And I know now that it may be wiser to try to create the place you want to live, rather than to keep trying to find it.
Full essay (~3,800 words): http://thirtytwomag.com/2012/06/the-fall-of-thecreative-class
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The Fall of the Creative Class (Original Post)
salvorhardin
Jun 2012
OP
FarCenter
(19,429 posts)1. Are there any entrepreneurial companies that started in Madison?
dogknob
(2,431 posts)5. The Onion?
XemaSab
(60,212 posts)2. Why don't the cool people
recognize me for my genius?
(This article had some interesting points, but DAMN did these people come off as hipster jerks.)
Taverner
(55,476 posts)8. LOL - my thoughts too
salvorhardin
(9,995 posts)3. Kick
Last edited Wed Jun 20, 2012, 10:55 PM - Edit history (1)
Good article about Richard Florida, folks.
BOG PERSON
(2,916 posts)4. good article
the very idea of a "creative class" is pretty offensive imho.
Response to salvorhardin (Original post)
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alcibiades_mystery
(36,437 posts)7. Love it...great article
I read Florida's book with a massive eyeroll nearly a decade ago, it seems. It's nice to see that some serious researchers began to finally put some pressure on his claims.