Attracting the 'creative class'

[14 September 2006 - The Courier-Journal - Louisville, Kentucky - Opinion] In a recent Atlantic Monthly article, Richard Florida, the pundit who coined the term "creative class" to describe a young generation of technologically savvy, lifestyle progressive workers and entrepreneurs who become economic drivers in the communities in which they settle, offers new evidence that the migration to "superstar cities" is accelerating. Florida's work in tracking these trends is closely followed by economic growth experts and our own Greater Louisville, Inc., which hosted him here. In short, Florida argues that "superstar cities" will be the primary winners in the future because of these new "creative" residents. The question for cities like ours, which Florida does not include in the "superstar cities" list, is how to secure our share of the future economic pie as we compete in a "world is flat" economy. We believe the answer rests largely on grass-roots efforts to address this trend. More