Introduction: The Rise of the Creative Class The emergence of a new social class, the creative class, is based fundamentally on the value of human intelligence, knowledge, and creativity. Richard Florida, who wrote “The Rise of the Creative Class,” in 2000, takes on this term “creative” in a multitude of ways socially, culturally, and economically. Human creativity, Florida determines, is the ultimate economic resource. The ability to develop new ideas and better ways of doing things is ultimately what raises productivity and thus living standards. One of the greatest transitions in America was the shift from an agricultural-based economy to the industrial age. This transition was based on natural resources and physical labor power. The transition we are undergoing now, Florida notes, is a shift from an industrial economy to a creative economy based on human intelligence, knowledge, and creativity (Florida). The people that make up the creative class are the ones who are paid principally to do creative work as a living. They engage in complex problem solving that involves a great deal of independent judgment and requires high levels of education or human capital. The core of the creative class include scientists, engineers, artists, musicians, designers, and knowledge-based professionals. It also includes an even broader range of creative people in business, law, finance, and health-care. In fact, the creative class is composed of approximately 30% of all Americans and accounts for nearly half of all wage and salary income in the United States, about $1.7 trillion (2000). The other social classes include the service class, which is made up of the cashiers, salespeople, police officers, food preparers, medical assistants, and administrative assistants and the working class, which includes the miners, welders, carpenters, truck drivers, production workers, and construction workers. The service economy is the support infrastructure of the creative age. The diagram below shows the allocation of people in each social class in the Cleveland area (Florida). The three T’s for economic growth, Florida states, provides a model in which creative-seeking communities should base their investments and energy in. The first T, Technology, is measured by innovation and high-tech industry concentration. Talent, the second T, is measured not by human capital but by creative capital, which is talent measured functionally, by the numbers of people actually in creative occupations. Tolerance, the third T, is about places that are open and accepting and therefore have an edge in attracting different kinds of people and new ideas. The Tolerance Index is based on four measures, including the Gay Index, the Bohemian Index, the Melting Pot Index (the concentration of foreign-born people), and racial integration, which is used to capture how integrated rather than separated a community is throughout its internal geography (Florida). Florida ranks a region’s creativity based on a model known as a creativity index, which establishes a rating system for a region’s ability to harness creative energy for long-run economic growth based on the 3 T’s of economic growth (Florida). The Transformation of Everyday Life
American society is undergoing a transformation of everyday life that has changed from one that was typically based around manufacturing, service, and working sectors to one that is based on creativity. Creativity, in comparison to the other sectors, thrives in a different work environment. Florida compares the blue-collar and white-collar working sectors to the creative sector, which is no-collar. It is considered no-collar because the creative class includes a vast amount of individuals and professionals who demand the ability to learn and grow, shape the content of their work, control their own schedules and express their identities through work (Florida). o The Experiential Lifestyle We demand a lifestyle built around creative experiences. We are impatient with the strict separations that previously demarcated work, home and leisure. This is why live work communities are a good idea. o The Time Warp A whole new social construction of time is emerging. The old boundaries that told us when we should do something have faded into oblivion. Creative work requires long hours of intense concentration, punctuated by the need to relax, incubate ideas and recharge. o The Creative Community “Creative people have always gravitated to certain communities (…) that provide the stimulation, diversity and a richness of experiences that are the wellsprings of creativity” (Florida). “In place of the tightly knit urban neighborhoods of the past or alienated and generic suburbs, we prefer communities that have a distinct character” (Florida).
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This past semester I began my thesis writing on the Creative Class and Rustbelt Cities. The Following is the abstract from my paper:
Richard Florida’s “The Rise of the Creative Class” recognizes the emergence of a new social class, the creative class, as the people who are paid principally to do creative work as a living. He goes so far as to state that human creativity is the ultimate economic resource and that all communities and community leaders should invest in creative resources and creative people. The Three T’s for Economic Growth, Florida states, recognizes technology, talent, and tolerance as the major factors for the development of economic growth. More recently, he has recognizes a fourth T for economic growth, Territorial Assets, as the key factor that draws people to a certain place. Also known as “Quality of Place,” Territorial Assets include the assets that make a certain place attractive for creative people. Thick labor markets, lifestyle, social interaction, diversity, and identity are some of these assets. When building a creative community, it is important to develop a strong people climate rather than simply a business climate. The loss of manufacturing jobs caused Cleveland’s economy to struggle and the population to shrink substantially. The phenomenon of shrinking cities has caused planners and developers to think differently about planning in a way that is more honest and realistic for Rustbelt cities such as Cleveland that are struggling to regain population growth. Like Florida mentions, bottom-up community development strategies are important, but it isn’t the only strategy that planners and designers must consider. What is important is to establish a unique kind of creative class, which I title “The Rustbelt Creative Class.” Even though Cleveland has experienced urban shrinkage and decline in the past several decades, there is a downtown revival emerging that due in part to the innovators, entrepreneurs, thinkers and doers in places such as Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and Youngstown. The Rustbelt revival is not experiencing new growth only because there is an abundance of cheap space. It’s about the authenticity of the post-industrial environment, particularly the prevalence of conflict. Conflict, which is often associated with anger, tension and avoidance, should be seen as the driving force for community growth. The irony of conflict is that it “stirs us into observation and memory” and allows our minds to think creatively. The ability to create has long been tied to ones surroundings. In the case of Rustbelt Cities, these surroundings are characterized by the vacant and underutilized buildings and structures, the post-industrial parks and factory buildings, foreclosed homes and boarded-up storefronts, and patchwork of random buildings and land. This “patchwork” of contrast is the characteristic of a chaotic landscape: one that lacks an identity and is the outcome of urban decay, shrinkage, demolition and abandonment. Cleveland’s growing arts community has embraced the conflicted environment and approached it in an artist way; recognizing and reusing once underutilized and vacant spaces and buildings, creating something out of nothing. The process of reusing vacant buildings does not have to be belabored, but can be done in phases and can be as simple as selecting one building for rehabilitation, as a model, then building up the number for rehabilitation. The redevelopment of vacant lots and structures has the potential to create more jobs, more recreational spaces, cultural opportunities and more vibrancy to an area that formerly was a dilapidated area. This is the approach that planners and community leaders need to take: being able to embrace authenticity, enacting a strategy that accepts conflict in the environment. The traditional model for economic growth, one that is based on the idea of newness and maximum population growth, simply does not work for Rustbelt cities like Cleveland. The site selected will recognize these guidelines and serve as a model for creative communities in Rustbelt cities. Keywords: Creative Class, Richard Florida, Conflict, Rustbelt, Cleveland, Artist District I wrapped up this semester by finishing up my final project on the Detroit Shoreway and what I believe to be my project theme called the symbolic economy. Beginning with "The Rise of the Creative Class" and identifying who exactly the creative class is, I wanted to address a community of creative people, most appropriately in the Gordon Arts District. I addressed the two topics of the existing fabric and a new anchor by proposing two different and unique systems: the symbolic monument and the symbolic infrastructure. My presentation boards are shown below. This design was critized for its more radical approach to a symbolic culture that tried to address a creative class. My initial analysis lead me to believe that this would be a more ideal solution. However, I was expecting some criticism moreso because I decided to take a radical approach in order to try to address a radical initial to bring more culture and identity into the area. Of course, the design isn't perfect but it addresses many different elements that I believe contributed to a creative culture. It was a strong move towards the future of the Gordon Arts District and the Detroit Shoreway. I chose to make a 3d model in sketchup rather than a physical model because it allowed me to render some streetside "worms-eye" views that showed how the environment would respond with people and my design. I felt like I produced enough valuable research and analysis given the timeframe I had for this project.
The jury review, overall, went well and I respect the criticism. I understand the points some of the jurors made. Unfortunately, I didnt have time to dive into the creative class research that may have been helpful for my argument but I still think I put up a good fight. The boards and presentation I believe turned out great. I thought this semester provided me with a lot of valuable information in terms of urban design. Taking the landscape design approach is very important and I will make sure to do a thorough analysis of the site and conditions in future studio projects. I look forwards to my coming studios here at the CUDC and am glad I can finally say that this semester is coming to a close. The Detroit Shoreway (just west of Downtown Cleveland) was the area of study for our analysis of Economics this week. As part of NPI Strategic Investment Initiative (SII), the Detroit Shoreway has received much attention from the CUDC, CityArchitecture, the Northeast Ohio Urban Design Center, and the CCD. Our initial analysis looked at the SII and their design development process. We noted the emphasis placed on the establishments of districts, housing and character of the town. We read the book "The Rise of the Creative Class." This book discusses a new type of social class called "the creative class" that is composed of approx. 30% of people; the people who rely on their creativity and ideas to work (architects, engineers, artists, etc.) We compared the creative class with the SII (shown above). Our mapping involved multiple systems (soil, hydrology, real estate, local restaurants, districts, and the list goes on....). Focusing on real estate and investment, we derived a thesis statement from some of this initial mapping and from our site visit. The development of hougses for sale will increase the stability of the neighborhood, increase the value of the land, attract the creative class, and create an environment with character. Compare this statement with the implementation of rental units. After mapping the real estate areas and establishing real estate zones, we conducted further mapping trying to determine relationships between some of the districts and zoning with these real estate zones. Is there any comparison. We made some conclusions:
Battery Park creates a new owner occupied area, yet is isolated from the existing fabric. Investments made to Gordon Arts district make it a destination for visitors to support the artistic endeavors of residents. While it is true that the neighborhood provides housing options for a wide range of economic levels, these levels are divided into strict districts creating inequalities in the quality of life. Industrial rehabilitation plays a minor role in the SII plan for the district, yet may play a key role in creating a thriving, healthy neighborhood with a strong creative culture. |
AUTHORBrandon E. Young ARCHIVES
February 2021
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