Creativity holds key to success, expert says

Dave Hall
Windsor Star

Communities across North America which are able to embrace the shift from a manufacturing economy to one which values creativity and diversity are the ones which will survive in a newly defined global economy, said a noted author and urban studies expert.

Richard Florida, who now teaches at the University of Toronto, told an economic summit "this is even larger than the shift from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy and how communities and cities deal with that shift will determine their economic future."

Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class and The Flight of the Creative Class, said more than 35 million jobs in the creative sector have been added in the U.S. since 1980 and the sector now comprises between 35 and 40 per cent of that country's labour force.

"And what determines where those jobs go is a community's sense of place," said Florida.

"What is it about a city that attracts concentrations of people?

"My critics have suggested this is all about latte bars, music venues and Frisbee-playing fields," said Florida.

"But it's been shown that economic success goes to those places which capitalize on creativity.

"It goes to those which are open-minded and open to immigrants, artists, gays, writers, engineers and anyone else who could be considered creative."

Florida said that "we don't pay for raw materials in our products anymore, we pay for design and creativity. That's where the added value is coming from today."

Florida also said that Windsor-Detroit is part of the second-largest mega-region in the world with more than 45 million people in an area which also includes Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania and developing a binational economic development strategy is critical.

Florida, who's now working on a new book called Who's Your City, said that the number one reason why people choose to live in a particular city is its "esthetic value, its physical beauty, its openness to different cultures.

"While the river has to be part of any development plan, you also need to encourage more residential, office and commercial investment in your downtown but you're almost better off doing nothing than doing it wrong.

"You have a chance to do it right but it has to be economically and environmentally sustainable, creative and provide economic equality for all residents.

"Ultimately, it's those concentrations of people which drives innovation, creativity and economic growth."

Florida said North America's competitors a generation from now will not be from China and India but from Scandinavia and Northern Europe where they have realized the importance of having a creative class which employers also realize is important to their workforce and their ability to recruit talented employees.

© The Windsor Star 2007