Richard Florida’s writings on the creative class have underpinned much of the urban regeneration work in Europe, Australia and North America over the past decade. The creative sector is also getting increasing attention in India, Brazil and China. A new publication from ESPON shows regional patterns and trends in the creative workforce across Europe. It argues that the ability to attract creative workers is highly linked to the qualities of places, and that the opportunities are not confined to the urban centres.
The Creative Class The idea that economic development policies should look beyond their traditional focus on attracting manufacturing jobs was fundamental to Florida’s case. A decade on from the publication of his book on “The Rise of the Creative Class” this view has become widely accepted. Thus the ESPON report observes that the ability of cities and regions to attract creative workers “is usually associated with place-based qualities such as cultural and recreational amenities, diverse neighbourhoods, architectural quality, access to nature, etc.”.
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