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 The Rise of the Creative ClassAnd How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Lifeby Richard Florida Dec 24, 2003
DescriptionThe Washington Monthly 2002 Annual Political Book Award Winner The Rise of the Creative Class gives us a provocative new way to think about why we live as we do today-and where we might be headed. Weaving storytelling with masses of new and updated research, Richard Florida traces the fundamental theme that runs through a host of seemingly unrelated changes in American society: the growing role of creativity in our economy. Just as William Whyte's 1956 classic The Organization Man showed how the organizational ethos of that age permeated every aspect of life, Florida describes a society in which the creative ethos is increasingly dominant. Millions of us are beginning to work and live much as creative types like artists and scientists always have-with the result that our values and tastes, our personal relationships, our choices of where to live, and even our sense and use of time are changing. Leading the shift are the nearly 38 million Americans in many diverse fields who create for a living-the Creative Class. The Rise of the Creative Class chronicles the ongoing sea of change in people's choices and attitudes, and shows not only what's happening but also how it stems from a fundamental economic change. The Creative Class now comprises more than thirty percent of the entire workforce. Their choices have already had a huge economic impact. In the future they will determine how the workplace is organized, what companies will prosper or go bankrupt, and even which cities will thrive or wither. Reviews"An important book for those who feel passionately about the future of the urban center. In fact, Florida virtually defines us.... He has outlined the identity of the contemporary city's core population. Just by daring to use the word class, he's changed the framework for discussing social and economic inequality." "Florida's book leaves the reader not just with some interesting ideas but with a new perspective for understanding our culture.... Well worth reading if you're seeking a greater understanding of the sociological and economic changes taking place in our culture today.... Interesting, provocative, and smart." "An intellectual tour de force, scholarly yet colorfully written." "Attracting the type of attention usually garnered by salacious fiction or celebrity tell-alls, from packed readings to a rapid ascent up Amazon's bestseller list.... Florida's work is challenging many of the verities of the field." "A vibrant and fast-paced romp.... Florida's research and experiences over the past decade have given him the foundation on which to build a new view of business reality." "Florida draws a vivid picture of what it takes to make a great 21st-century city." "A pioneering cartographer of talent." "An exhaustive study that ought to be read by every city planner and economic developer who wants to thrive in the next century.... It tells us a lot about ourselves, where we've been and where we are going." Selling TerritoryWorld |
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