andrew_gelman_stats andrew_gelman_stats-2014 andrew_gelman_stats-2014-2216 knowledge-graph by maker-knowledge-mining
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Introduction: In a post entitled, “A holiday message from the creative class to Richard Florida — screw you,” Mark Palko argues that Florida’s famous theories about the rise of the creative class have not held up over time: Florida paints a bright picture of these people and their future, with rapidly increasing numbers, influence and wealth. He goes so far as to say “Places that succeed in attracting and retaining creative class people prosper; those that fail don’t.” . . . But, Palko argues, Except for a few special cases, this may be the worst time to make a living in the arts since the emergence of modern newspapers and general interest magazines and other mass media a hundred and twenty years ago . . . Though we now have tools that make creating and disseminating art easier than ever, no one has come up with a viable business model that supports creation in today’s economy. . . . OK, fine, so individual creatives aren’t doing so well? But what about the larger urban economies? P
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1 He goes so far as to say “Places that succeed in attracting and retaining creative class people prosper; those that fail don’t. [sent-2, score-0.49]
2 But, Palko argues, Except for a few special cases, this may be the worst time to make a living in the arts since the emergence of modern newspapers and general interest magazines and other mass media a hundred and twenty years ago . [sent-6, score-0.125]
3 Palko links to this piece by Alec MacGillis who argues that Florida has reversed his earlier claims: Few purveyors of big ideas have as much riding on a single notion or catch phrase as Richard Florida does with the “creative class. [sent-15, score-0.142]
4 ” Florida’s idea of a group of highly mobile, Mac-toting professionals driving economic development has sold him a lot of books, spurred a lucrative speechmaking and consulting career . [sent-16, score-0.109]
5 All of which explains the awkwardness of the current moment for Florida: His theories about how to boost city economies have, quite simply, been discredited. [sent-20, score-0.171]
6 Ever since the economy fell apart, the creative class (which Florida defined loosely enough to include bankers along with Web designers) has come to look less like savior than culprit. [sent-24, score-0.614]
7 And here’s the punch line: Writing in January on The Atlantic Cities site he co-founded, he tossed off a line that undercut the whole premise that the creative class was the key to a fully thriving metropolis. [sent-30, score-0.529]
8 Nobody ever claimed that the “creative class” thing told the whole story of the economy, but ever since I first heard the idea, it struck me as catching some important aspects of society and the economy that was not included in the usual descriptions. [sent-37, score-0.222]
9 Indeed, it used to be possible to live in a city full of artistic ferment and still pay low rent and live a reasonable life without too much money. [sent-41, score-0.173]
10 Now, though, rents and other expenses are high, and the decline of the traditional news and entertainment media has made it harder to get paid for creative work. [sent-42, score-0.35]
11 To some extent, people work in creative fields because of the money or the opportunity. [sent-48, score-0.35]
12 But people also do creative work because they want to (e. [sent-50, score-0.35]
13 In any case, my point is that Florida could be completely correct about the creative class being a key incubation point of the new economy, even if the creatives themselves aren’t living so comfortably. [sent-53, score-0.646]
14 Struggling Holyoke, Massachusetts, population 40,000, now employs a “creative economy coordinator. [sent-57, score-0.124]
15 ” In Roanoke, Virginia, where a Florida underling was paid $50,000 for a two-day consulting session, what remains is an aborted “creative connectors” website and an annual downtown music event. [sent-58, score-0.268]
16 But MacGillis’s second (implicit) criticism seems weaker, in pointing to things like Roanoke, Virginia’s “annual downtown music event. [sent-62, score-0.118]
17 ” A key point I associate with Florida is that cities should grow locally rather than install megaprojects that are supposed to stimulate the economy but end up having no collection with the existing urban environment. [sent-63, score-0.33]
18 My impression is that Florida’s work was in many ways a reaction against the idea of spending scarce city resources on renaissance centers, sports stadiums, etc. [sent-65, score-0.182]
19 , and instead spending much smaller amounts on smart improvements that make a city more livable for the people who want to live there. [sent-66, score-0.195]
20 Roanoke’s arts initiative might be a big scam, I have no idea, but I think a lot has to do with how such things are implemented and the extent to which they involve the local creative class, rather than just dropping a money bomb on a 1950s-style construction project. [sent-67, score-0.447]
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