What do Vancouver, Dublin, Helsinki, Sydney
and Montreal have in common? They are all cities that have
been dubbed, Fast Cities—the new up and coming metropolis’ which
are largely populated by the Creative Class—a distinct,
innovative people who have a hand in creating metropolitan
accomplishment—and according to Creative Class guru
Richard Florida, they are working hard to pioneer new lands
of opportunity. The demographic of the Creative Class has
been researched extensively by Florida, whose thesis—the
Creative Class is a distinct segment that drives innovation,
creates urban success, and is critical to economic competitiveness—is
enough for cities to come to him for advice on attracting
this group of people. In his latest book, Flight of the Creative
Class, Florida argues that this worldwide struggle for creative
talent will be the defining economic issue of the 21st century.
Vancouver is a prime example of
a fast-city, with one-third of its population made up of
the creative class. Booming
industries include film, animation, video-games, and biotech.
The metropolitan area boasts an abundance of high-tech workers
including over 90 biotech companies, making it the eighth
largest cluster in North America (ahead of New York, Pennsylvania,
Washington and Florida). With one of the highest immigrant
percentages in the world Vancouver is one of Canada’s
most liberal cities. It also delivers environmental diversity
with both city life and natural surroundings with high-rises
set against a backdrop of snow-capped mountains, beautiful
forests and the Pacific Ocean. Richard Florida stresses the
importance of diversity and its importance to allowing the
creative class to thrive. Real diversity means the acceptance
of different types of people who will question rules, ask
hard questions and introduce new ideas—thus—Vancouver
allows itself to both attract the Creative Class while giving
the opportunity for its population to flourish.
Also with a large immigrant population, Sydney is a diverse
city that offers both natural and synthetic magnificence.
Sydney is home to both worlds—with a large population
of artists—as well as being the centre of Australia’s
financial district and home to more than 300 biotech companies.
The city provides over twenty beaches where visitors and
residents can indulge in surfing, sailing and yachting.
Because it is home to the fifth-largest Creative Class workforce,
Montreal’s job progression ranks in the top five of
North American cities. The city itself affords the best of
both worlds—with Old World architecture and towering
modern high-rises—Montreal appeals to all generations.
Since the 1990s, Montreal has experienced a shift from industrial
to a creative-focused business mix more dependent on ideas
and originality rather than more derivative concentrations.
A favourite haven for the Creative Class, and home of Trinity
College (circa 1592), Dublin is a city rising in growth and
popularity. With housing that is both quaint and affordable,
and lower corporate taxes, Dublin offers a capital city that
is a convenient European base for major blue-chip companies
which is facilitated by a technologically competent English-speaking
work force. Networkers always have a place to interact with
a wealth and variety of neighborhood pubs, where ideas can
be born and deals can be made over pints of Guinness. Less
than two decades ago, Dublin was a monetary disaster and
relied heavily on British trade and agriculture. Then in
the 90’s, Dublin began offering tax breaks to entrepreneurs,
technology companies, and yes, artists. This transformation
helped double the economy and turned Ireland into the world's
largest exporter of packaged software. The US is now its
largest customer and Dublin is the proud home to Bono, Van
Morrison and Rolling Stone, Ron Wood.
Surrounded by the waters of the Baltic Sea, Helsinki is
immaculate and exotic. With the waters sparkling and boat-filled
in the summer, and an iced-over luminous paradise in the
winter, Helsinki is a safe, beautiful booming city. Home
to Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, the CEO of Nokia, the world's largest
cell-phone company, the company generates $39 billion in
annual revenue allowing Helsinki to become one of Europe's
new high-tech centers.
In an interview with Adam Hanft, Florida emphasized the importance
of the social and economic impact of his studies and how
they affect the world on a global scale: “people
are realizing amazing productivity and creativity gains
when they agglomerate. What my work tries to do is link
this phenomenon to specific demographic indicators and
economic trends.”
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