Richard Florida Takes a Detour

One of the most enthusiastic advocates for the urban resurgence, Richard Florida turns his attention to the segregation, inequality, and housing shortages that threaten to tear cities apart in The New Urban Crisis.

2 minute read

February 13, 2017, 2:00 PM PST

By Josh Stephens @jrstephens310


Brooklyn

BrooklynScribe / Shutterstock

Richard Florida's latest book, The New Urban Crisis, comes out in April. Josh Stephens reviewed it for the California Planning & Development Report.

"The last great urban crisis – back in the 1960s and 1970s -- took place in plain sight. The Cuyahoga River caught fire. So did the Bronx. Downtown neighborhoods emptied out and then got torn down. What Florida realized is that the current crisis, while not nearly as grave as the last one, is profound in its own way. But it’s relatively invisible, hidden behind, and not nearly as exciting as, the prosperity of the past decade. He realized that 'the very same clustering force that drives economic and social progress also…. generates a lopsided, extremely unequal kind of urbanism. A relative handful of superstar cities…benefit while many other places stagnate.'"

"Florida fuses this data into what he calls the 'New Urban Crisis Index,' consisting of 'economic segregation, wage inequality, income inequality, and housing unaffordability.' The big winners/losers, are, in order: Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, San Diego, and Chicago."

"The New Urban Crisis lacks much of the dazzle that characterizes Florida’s earlier work — he’s like a Taylor Swift fan who just discovered Morrissey. Previously, Florida presaged, and encouraged, ebullient trends that hadn’t happened yet. This time, he’s describing depressing things of which many urbanites are all too aware. Whether Florida should have been aware of them — ahead of time — is the question that hangs over the book."

"If anything, the biggest mistake of Florida and other city boosters was to sell cities to creatives (and vice-versa) without fully impressing on creatives their obligation to be citizens."

Wednesday, February 8, 2017 in California Planning & Development Report

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

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

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.

22 minutes ago - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Passengers exiting the back door of a blue public bus.

Opinion: Make Buses More Like Sidewalks

Sidewalks are an intuitive, low-cost, and easily accessible mobility tool. Can local buses function in the same way?

1 hour ago - Fast Company

Protest

How Cities Can Support Climate Adaptation

In the face of federal cuts to climate resilience funding, a panel at ULI’s Resilience Summit offered suggestions for maintaining managed retreat and other climate adaptation programs.

2 hours ago - Smart Cities Dive

Screenshot of University Transportation Centers website

Transportation Research Centers Lose Key Federal Funding

The federal University Transportation Center program funds critical transportation research and innovation at 35 consortia of colleges and universities.

3 hours ago - Streetsblog USA

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.