Florida the urban theorist is making the case in this month’s Atlantic cover story “How the Crash Will Reshape America,” that success will depend on America becoming less like Florida the state, and more like Europe: fewer homeowners, smaller homes, more renters, denser cities, fewer cars. T
The crash of 2008 continues to reverberate loudly nationwide—destroying jobs, bankrupting businesses, and displacing homeowners. But already, it has damaged some places much more severely than others. On the other side of the crisis, America’s economic landscape will look very different than it does today. What fate will the coming years hold for New York, Charlotte, Detroit, Las Vegas? Will the suburbs be ineffably changed? Which cities and regions can come back strong? And which will never come back at all?
Interview with Conor Clarke, urban theorist Richard Florida explains why recession is the mother of invention. Which cities will rise and fall with investment banks and the housing market? Which regions will thrive, and which will start to look like latter-day Dust Bowls?
Memphis, TN had a new kind of blues. Despite its rich history and amenities, and strong economic engines such as the FedEx headquarters, the city was losing annual job earnings, mainly because it could not hold on to young, bright talent. The 2000 census showed that Memphis’ population grew by 6,000 since 1995, but its net income had dropped by $90 million.
Nations have long been considered the fundamental economic units of the world, but that distinction no longer holds true. Today, the natural units -and engines- of the global economy are megaregions, cities and suburbs in powerful conurbations, at times spanning national borders, forming vast swaths of trade, transport, innovation and talent.
In an exclusive excerpt, the guru of the Creative Class explains the peaks and valleys of the global economy.
By Richard Florida, Across the Board: the Conference Board Magazine – Sept 1994
By Richard Florida, Project Report in Collaboration with the Great Lakes Council of Governors – Dec 1992
