The Urban 'Bohemian Index'

Carnegie Mellon University professor Richard Florida may be best known for his headline-grabbing "Bohemian Index." That index ranked American cities on the percentage of artists/musicians, gays and foreign-borns who made up their populations. Richard found that, surprisingly, the cities with high percentages of "Bohemians" were also the cities soaring in the New Economy.That insight started a two-year investigation that resulted in Richard’s new book, “The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community, and Everyday Life.” It goes on sale this week.Richard is the H. John Heinz III Professor of Regional Economic Development in the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University. He has been called a “maverick urbanist,” as his work confounds the cities that score at the bottom of his rankings and thrills those at the top. The show will broadcast Listen Sunday, 9 a.m. on the WKNO-FM Stations and again Tuesday, 9 a.m., or you can hear the show streamed live on the Web.

Thanks to Sheila Edmundson