City scholar Joel Kotkin argues against the idea of an urban revitalization panacea a la Richard Florida.
Joel Kotkin may be one of the most hardheaded futurists on the planet. In a field where fuzzy predictions are commonplace--many of them based on anecdotal evidence as flimsy as a Google search--his predictions are often tough and contrary. During the 1990s, for example, when lifestyle journalists were heralding the urban revival, Kotkin took a close look at the numbers and cautioned that a smattering of coffee bars in a handful of cities does not constitute a rebirth.
Thanks to Julie Taraska
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