Tag: Creative class
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Virginia Scores No. 5 in Creative Class Ranking
Economic geographer Richard Florida has published a new book, “The Rise of the Creative Class, Revisited,” and now that he’s blogging for The Atlantic, he’s publishing a lot of his data on his blog. Good news for fans of his creative-class analysis. I was pleased to see that the Old Dominion ranks fifth in the…
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Bottom-Up Intellectual Ferment in Richmond
by James A. Bacon Is religion a positive force for solving environmental challenges? That was the topic of a friendly debate last night between Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, a former sustainability advisor to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Scott Wayne, a former British diplomat and now founder of the Frontier Project creativity consulting firm. The debate,…
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Making High-Brow Art Accessible to the Masses
by James A. Bacon When you think of symphony, modern dance and other high art forms, Nelson County, Va., is not the first locale that normally leaps to mind. Bluegrass, maybe. Not Beethoven. But Nelson County is home to the Wintergreen Resort, and Wintergreen Performing Arts puts on one of the most marvelous music festivals…
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Hardware, Software and Heartware
Dan Slone spends a lot of time thinking about how to build more prosperous, livable and sustainable communities (see previous post). His thinking integrates bodies of thought from the green movement, which is all about creating sustainable communities, and New Urbanism, where the main emphasis is creating livable places. Dan is a visionary but he’s…
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Virginia and the “Creative Food Economy”
by James A. Bacon Evrim Dogu had a simple idea: He wanted to start a bakery that used locally grown and milled grains for his bread. But as he researched his business plan, he discovered that simple didn’t mean easy. The consolidation of grain farming, milling and baking into industrial combines serving national markets has…
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The Creative Class Meets New Urbanism
by James A. Bacon WEST PALM BEACH, FLA–Richard Florida, the author of the “Rise of the Creative Class,” has long remarked upon the creative class’ penchant for living in certain cities rather than others. He has devoted much of his energy over the past 10 years to illuminating the importance of a community’s tolerance for…
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Richmond’s Creative Class and the Indie Music Scene
Richmond is no one’s idea of a cultural trend setter. I often joke that the last cultural innovation that originated in my fair city and spread beyond its borders was the festival flag (an adornment whose allure has long since peaked and faded). Perhaps I could add the Geico Gecko and Cave Man commercials that…
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Art as Richmond’s Future
by James A. Bacon Art in Richmond is busting out of the museums, universities and galleries and into the streets. The latest efflorescence occurred Saturday when a dozen nationally known street artists gathered to create an outdoor gallery along the James River Power Plant Building and Floodwall along the canal walk. Hundreds of people came…
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Art for Economic Development’s Sake
by James A. Bacon Forget about art for art’s sake. Let’s talk about art for economic development’s sake. A couple of days ago I lauded the City of Richmond’s efforts to create a downtown arts district. (See “Richmond’s Wine-and-Brie Path to Community Development.”) I was thinking mainly in terms of the effect that a cluster…
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Virginia’s Brain Drain
by James A. Bacon California has a lot of problems, including a dysfunctional political system, structural budget deficits and a lousy business climate. But it’s still a magnet for some of the world’s most talented scientists and engineers. According to a new Milken Institute study, “What Brain Drain? California among the Best in the U.S.…