Does a fashion designer or book publisher living in New York City have a better chance for career success than one living in Des Moines, Iowa, or even San Francisco? Richard Florida, an American urban studies theorist and professor at the University of Toronto, thinks so. In his book, Who's Your City? How the Creative Economy is Making Where You Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life (Basic Books, 2009), Florida proposes that the opportunity for professional success increases in geographic areas where there is a higher concentration of the "creative class" - which includes knowledge workers in the arts, design, media, entertainment, law, finance, science, technology, higher education, and health care. This high concentration promotes more creativity, networking, teamwork, and intermingling of ideas that may spur members of the group to achieve higher degree of success Florida believes that this trend will continue as more workers move to areas where members of their occupation traditionally flourish. Here is a list of cities that attract specific "crerative classes:"
Austin TX: Semiconductor Engineers
Boston: Computer Engineers
Boulder/Denver: Computer Engineers, Geoscientists
Chicago: Sales Workers
Detroit: Industrial Engineers, Mechanical Engineers
Fargo, ND: Furniture Makers
Houston: Geoscientists, Petroleum Engineers
Los Angeles: Entertainers, Talent Agents
New York: Book Publishers, Brokerage Clerks, Fashion Designers
Philadelphia: Biologists, Medical Scientists
Santa Fe, NM: Anthropologists, Archeologists
San Diego: Biotechnology Workers
Seattle: Aerospace Engineers, Software Engineers
Virginia Beach, VA: Marine Engineers
Washington, DC: Astronomers, Economists, Lawyers, Mathematicians, Political Scientists |
