Creative Planning

Richard Florida and Kevin Stolarick, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, think what they call the Creative Class is the key engine of growth for cities. Its members, who make their livings designing things and solving problems, include engineers, musicians, scientists, actors, software developers, and writers.If you have a lot of this class, you'll prosper. If you don't, your town and region risks sinking into slow decline. Florida and Stolarick rank Washington, Raleigh-Durham, Seattle, San Francisco, and Austin as the top five Creative Class towns. Stolarick thinks creativity is now more closely related to urban growth than is education.If Florida and Stolarick are on to something, local planners have their work cut out for them. To keep their towns and cities growing and healthy they have to attract people who, by definition, tend to do surprising, unplanned things.

Thanks to Jeff A. Taylor