Kotkin To Florida: Being Cool Is Not Enough

Dense, arty neighborhoods have failed to attract talent and capital, writes Joel Kotkin. What people really want is affordable space.

2 minute read

February 22, 2006, 11:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"[T]he American academic Richard Florida, has some cities sold on the notion that 'without gays and rock bands' they are doomed to lose 'the economic race' in the new century.

Across the world, cities have adopted strategies such as promoting gay districts, focusing resources on building cool downtown lofts and investing heavily in the construction of arts palaces and other such cultural ephemera.

...[C]ool, culture-centred cities in the US ... appear to be less than idyllic. Since 2000, pillars of urban hipness such as Portland, Boston and Austin have suffered anaemic economic growth while key industries -- from manufacturing to high-end business services -- have migrated to such unhip cities as Las Vegas, San Bernardino-Riverside, Orlando, Boise and Reno.

...Perhaps most troubling, the craze over coolness stops cities from focusing on the fundamentals -- such as investing in basic infrastructure, education, broad-based economic development, good parks and efficent sanitation -- critical to their long-term prospects. These basic functions affect the lives of most adults, including members of the bohemian creative class, once they begin to worry about buying a decent house, expanding a business and the imperatives brought on by raising a family.

...What is needed instead is an appreciation that the greatest asset of Australian cities -- including Melbourne and Sydney -- lies in the promise of the Australian dream of a single family house and a backyard."

Thanks to Wendell Cox

Monday, February 20, 2006 in The Australian

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight