singles, young people, homosexuals, sophistos, and trendoids...

Richard Florida caused quite a stir with The Rise of the Creative Class , his theory that economic growth was strongest in hip and bohemian places that attracted creative people. Trouble is, though the media loved it, it's pure malarky, as shown in Paths to Prosperity, by Joel Kotkin...

....Today, economic growth is more likely to be found in areas dismissed by Richard Florida and his media supporters as barely worth living in. It�s not likely that this correction will be trumpeted with anything like the fervor of Florida�s original claims, however, because many journalists prefer his original perspective. In fact, a whole industry has arisen over the last decade to promote the premise that economic growth directly follows �quality of life� factors that appeal to singles, young people, homosexuals, sophistos, and trendoids. What really matters are dance clubs, cool restaurants, art museums, and hip shopping districts, many writers agreed.

If you go to today�s new growth hot-spots, however, you will find few of those supposed prerequisites of prosperity. Instead, in a land like the Inland Empire you will see single-family homes, churches, satellite dishes, and malls. These are places where households, not singles, dominate the economy. These are cultures attractive to ordinary families. And therefore to business people....

If Richard Florida were right, this town would be a roaring bonfire of entrepreneurial energy. But he's wrong.

(thanks to Brothers Judd Blog)

Posted by John Weidner at February 14, 2004 8:00 PM