The Rise Of The Creative Class Revisited Analysis

Cole Gendels

Urban Redevelopment

Essay Number 1

Some people believe that with advances in technology, the world has become “flat”. Thomas Friedman argues that, “The world is flat… you can innovate without having to emigrate” (Florida 2012, 187) There nothing stopping someone from one side of the world to connect with someone from the other. On the contrary, Richard Florida, an American urban studies theorist believes that Friedman is “unequivocally wrong.” (Florida, 2012 187) Florida believes that the most successful cities have to attract a certain type of people, The Creative Class. In “The Rise Of The Creative Class: Revisited”, Florida “Define[s] the core of the Creative Class to include people in science and engineering, arts, music,

The chapter discusses the question Florida presented his class, “If you had just two career choices open to you, where would you work- in a machine shop, with high pay and a job for life, or in a hair salon, with less pay and where you were subject to the whims of the economy”(Florida 2012, 66) Almost every student chose the hair stylist. Florida believes they chose the hair stylist because they want to have a job with flexibility and the opportunity for high reward. When getting off any exit to Bridgeport the first thing one sees is large amounts of factories. The city is attracting people from the Working class. Bridgeport needs to attract creative people. The city has made many wrong attempts in creating some success. The city now has an NHL affiliate team, a minor league baseball team, and an arena that attracts large venues. It is clear that Florida is correct that, “Creative people do not move for traditional reasons. The physical attractions that most cities focus on building- sports stadiums, freeways,… and tourism and entertainment districts that resemble theme parks- are irrelevant and insufficient, or actually unattractive to them.” (Florida 2012, 186) On the contrary, Stamford does not have any sports team, or any arenas, yet it is having way more success than Bridgeport. This is due to one thing- the city is attracting creative people. Not to long ago the city of Stamford was similar to Bridgeport. It was having very little success. However, due to the geographical location, and the smooth commute to Manhattan, the city attracted many financial institutions. In 2013, four Stamford based companies made the fortune 500 list; Starwood Hotels, Charter Communications, Pitney Bowes, and Frontier Communications. (Daily Voice, 2013) The rise of these financial institutions has really helped the city attract creative