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Posts Tagged ‘Richard Florida’
ReImagining a more creative rural educational system
February 9th, 2010
Yesterday I highlighted a video interview of Richard Florida on Big Think, emphasizing the movement of creative workers to careers in industries not usually associated with creative types.
But the bulk of his message, which I left untouched yesterday, is that we need to reimagine our educational system. You may listen (or re-listen) to the interview in the video below.
(video source: “Reinventing the way Workers Learn,” Big Think
Florida’s emphasis on the lack of social skill training in education reminded me of the advice Jim Beddow offered college students when he was the President at Dakota Wesleyan University back in the 1980s and early 1990s. He encouraged students to develop skills that enabled them to:
- communicate (verbal & written)
- work in a team environment
- solve problems
Jim still offers this advice to young people, and has since added a forth key; learn to network (both in personal and online). To support his advice, Jim often cites successful individuals who embody these skills. Two things strike me about his list of examples. First, a great many create success outside of their chosen field of academic study. And second, these individuals are incredibly entrepreneurial and creative.
As regular readers recognize, I’m a former high school teacher, and am often a critic of the educational system in our rural communities. My primary grudge is that our current educational model was developed for the industrial economy, which means we trained them to be successful in urban communities with stronger industrial economies.
In the video interview, Florida tells us that “nibbling around the edges” of the educational system won’t develop the types of change that our country needs to grow our economy. I would agree.
But what does that mean for our rural communities? Do we have to wait until business and political leaders are ready to transform education? I hope not.
Instead, I would call on rural educators to look within their classrooms, and figure out ways that they can teach these skills to their current students. Not only will students benefit as individuals, but I think our rural communities will benefit as well.
Note: Readers may be interested in these additional video interviews of Richard Florida on Big Think
Tags: brain drain, creative economy, Richard Florida
Posted in Economic Development, Rural, Youth, education | Comments (0)
The Creative Class, moving into new industries
February 8th, 2010
I’ve often felt that a missing part of Richard Florida’s Creative Class theory has been a lack of emphasis on creative individuals who work in non-creative industries. For those unfamiliar, Florida believes that cities must compete for talent because individuals who belong to the “creative class” drive our economy. In short, cities that attract talent thrive; those that don’t die.
So who are these creative workers that cities need? Florida finds them in the fields of science, research, health care, finance, computer science and the arts, to name a few.
His research casts an ominous shadow on rural communities, both past and future. Historically, he finds little evidence of creative workers in rural communities. And in the future, he sees little opportunity for rural communities to attract them. No talent, no future.
In the following interview on Big Think, however, Florida suggests creative works are migrating to jobs not usually associated with the creative class.
(video source: “Reinveting the Way Workers Learn,” Big Think )
Creative workers in home repair and food processing. Those jobs don’t sound as foreign to rural communities as computer science and research.
In this light, rural communities are still in competition with urban areas for creative individuals. But the question becomes, how can we help them put their creativity to work building businesses that connect to the geographic advantages each rural community possesses?
As Florida highlights later in the interview, that process becomes easier when we reinvent our school systems. Let’s talk more about that later.
I’m excited to see that the Creative Class theory is growing to be more inclusive. At the Rural Learning Center we’ve always sense creative people in our rural communities are overlooked. Too often, however, we’ve neglected to harness and apply their creativity.
Tags: brain drain, creative economy, Richard Florida
Posted in Economic Development, Rural | Comments (2)
How will the Crash affect Rural America — II
February 17th, 2009
Richard Florida is one of my favorite economists (and I love his blog too). I like his work because place matters in his analysis of what drives the economy, and I think he’s got his finger on a lot of complex issues surrounding our economy. But each time I read his work, I leave frustrated at his dismissive attitude towards rural places.
That’s largely how I felt when after reading “How the Crash Will Reshape America” in the March 2009 issue of The Atlantic. It’s as if rural places are irrelevant. That said, there’s a lot of good information for those of us who care enough about rural to think about.
Some predictions made by Florida include:
- New York City will remain the dominant financial market despite claims by some that it will lose out to up-and-comers (Shanghai, Hong Kong, and other Asian and Middle Eastern financial capitals). He bases his analysis on New York’s ability to attract a critical mass of financial talent. As long as it’s an attractive place to live, talented people will migrate there, giving it a leg up on the less open up-and-coming financial centers.
- The rise of mega-regions will continue. These belts of economic concentration will continue because talent is drawn to these places– and the pace of innovation increases population increases.
- Rust Belt cities and towns, symbolized by Detroit, will continue to decline. No real surprise here, and Florida offers no insights worthy of repeating. Detroit,
- Sun Belt cities (ie - Las Vegas and Phoenix) that experienced rapid economic growth built on the back of real estate and construction will need to transform themselves if they hope to survive this crisis. Interestingly, Florida identifies the absurdity upon which the economics of these cities were built, comparing them to a “giant Ponzi scheme,” but he is not as quick to write off their futures as he is with Rust Belt communities.
- Suburbs have outlived their usefulness. Florida has always had a thing against suburbs, and admittedly, so do I. The suburban lifestyle, which made sense while our economy was based on manufacturing, was subsidized by government policies that promoted homeownership (ie - Fannie Mae, adjustable rate mortgages and subprime loans) and automotive transportation (ie - interstate and highway systems). Those subsidies, however, don’t make sense during a time of financial constrains and age of the “idea economy.”
- We need to rethink the emphasis on homeownership and improve the infrastructure of our mega-regions. Florida preaches against homeownership because he thinks it prohibits people from freely moving to places where the economic conditions call for their talents. He also thinks increased population density will make our economy more productive.
Where does this leave rural?
As always, Florida provides a lot to ponder. Unfortunately, his vision for the rural Midwest is bleak.
But I don’t think we should allow Florida’s vision to demoralize our efforts to build a vibrant future for rural places. As Eric Abrahamson’s blog, The New Pioneers, suggests, rural America does boast many of the characteristics young, talented, creative types are seeking. (read Eric’s post titled “Dreaming of Small Town Life” for more on these characteristics.) By focusing on these characteristics and making some adjustments, rural places pose great potential.
The big question in my mind, however, is how will the crash change what people value? If McMasions, consumerism, and suburbs are out, why can’t inexpensive housing, lower crime, and small town living be in?
It is far too early to know for sure what the crash will mean for our rural communities. But I’m a firm believer that some rural communities will work hard enough to recreate themselves to meet whatever changes the crash creates.
Tags: eric abrahamson, New Pioneers, Richard Florida, rust belt cities, sense of place
Posted in Community Development, Economic Development, Housing, In the News, Quality of Life, Rural | Comments (1)
How will the Crash reshape Rural America
February 16th, 2009
Richard Florida has written an outstanding analysis about America’s future. Titled “How the Crash will Reshape America,” it appeared in the March 2009 issue of The Atlantic. Florida, as most community development experts know, is an urban enthusiast who believes our economy is being driven by creative talent. Simply put, his theories argue that the places that succeed in attracting creative talent will thrive, while those who fail to attract creative talent will decline. Sadly, he doesn’t see much hope for rural places at succeeding in attracting talent, but that’s a story for another day.
Beyond encouraging everyone to read Florida’s article, I wanted to lift the following quote for people to think about:
“When a place gets boring, even the rich people leave.”
The quote is not from Florida. Rather Jane Jacobs, the great urban theorist, told it to Florida in an interview a few years ago. Florida believes places like New York City will survive the economic meltdown if for no other reason than they are interesting and attractive places to live. This of course, connects well with his theories about what attracts talented people.
Since Florida’s writing says little of rural, I think it’s appropriate for us to ask:
Will our post-crash rural communities be more interesting and exiting places to live?
Tags: creative economy, Jane Jacobs, Richard Florida
Posted in Community Development, In the News, Rural | Comments (1)
Intentional Communities
January 13th, 2009
A friend and fellow blogger recently turned me on to a post at New Geography titled “A Local Graduation: How Small Towns Can Come Back.” Under the banner of “Localism“, the author, Sylvia L. Lovely, argues that towns need to turn their energies inward and make the best of the resources at hand.
I love that the author celebrates this inward focus. Engaging the local citizenry and the developing local assets are critical to future of our rural communities. But Lovely make an additional statement that I believe warrants further discussion:
What you need to build is an intentional city. The intentional city is the middle way — where both the need to attract creative people and the need to sustain traditional economic and social bases co-exist.
Jim Beddow, of the Rural Learning Center, has been calling on communities to “be intentional” for years. This effort derives from the observation that most rural communities in the Upper Midwest were born organically to support farmers in the countryside. Since the time of their founding, however, few communities have been intentional about their futures.
It’s this lack of intentionality that has prevented rural communities in the Upper Midwest from adapting to a new economy- one where farms don’t exist on every section of land.
Lovely apparently believes that being intentional means that communities need to balance the creative economy Richard Florida has identified with the traditional economy and society that currently exists in communities. Not bad advice, but I’ll let each community decide for itself what it wants for its future. What’s more important is that communities are intentional and develop the strategies that will enable them to achieve whatever future they envision.
Tags: creative economy, intentional city, Localism, Richard Florida, Rural Learning Center
Posted in Community Development, Rural | Comments (0)