There are no upcoming events right now.
Why not post one?
Recent Articles
- Justice for Indigenous Peoples is Long Overdueby Ryan McGreal, published June 30, 2021 in Commentary
(0 comments)
- Third-Party Election Advertising Ban About Silencing Workersby Chantal Mancini, published June 29, 2021 in Politics
(0 comments)
- Did Doug Ford Test the 'Great Barrington Declaration' on Ontarians?by Ryan McGreal, published June 29, 2021 in Special Report: COVID-19
(1 comment)
- An Update on Raise the Hammerby Ryan McGreal, published June 28, 2021 in Site Notes
(0 comments)
- Nestlé Selling North American Water Bottling to an Private Equity Firmby Doreen Nicoll, published February 23, 2021 in Healing Gaia
(0 comments)
- Jolley Old Sam Lawrenceby Sean Burak, published February 19, 2021 in Special Report: Cycling
(0 comments)
- Right-Wing Extremism is a Driving Force in Modern Conservatismby Ryan McGreal, published February 18, 2021 in Special Report: Extremism
(0 comments)
- Municipalities Need to Unite against Ford's Firehose of Land Use Changesby Michelle Silverton, published February 16, 2021 in Special Report
(0 comments)
- Challenging Doug Ford's Pandemic Narrativeby Ryan McGreal, published January 25, 2021 in Special Report: COVID-19
(1 comment)
- The Year 2020 Has Been a Wakeup Callby Michael Nabert, published December 31, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- The COVID-19 Marshmallow Experimentby Ryan McGreal, published December 22, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- All I Want for Christmas, 2020by Kevin Somers, published December 21, 2020 in Entertainment and Sports
(1 comment)
- Hamilton Shelters Remarkably COVID-19 Free Thanks to Innovative Testing Programby Jason Allen, published December 21, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
- Province Rams Through Glass Factory in Stratfordby Doreen Nicoll, published December 21, 2020 in Healing Gaia
(0 comments)
- We Can Prevent Traffic Deaths if We Make Safety a Real Priorityby Ryan McGreal, published December 08, 2020 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
(5 comments)
- These Aren't 'Accidents', These Are Resultsby Tom Flood, published December 04, 2020 in Special Report: Walkable Streets
(1 comment)
- Conservation Conundrumby Paul Weinberg, published December 04, 2020 in Special Report
(0 comments)
- Defund Police Protest Threatens Fragile Ruling Classby Cameron Kroetsch, published December 03, 2020 in Special Report: Anti-Racism
(2 comments)
- Measuring the Potential of Biogas to Reduce GHG Emissionsby John Loukidelis and Thomas Cassidy, published November 23, 2020 in Special Report: Climate Change
(0 comments)
- Ontario Squanders Early Pandemic Sacrificeby Ryan McGreal, published November 18, 2020 in Special Report: COVID-19
(0 comments)
Article Archives
Blog Archives
Site Tools
Feeds
By Art Brut (anonymous) | Posted June 03, 2011 at 10:05:50 in reply to Comment 64496
Leaving the gay equation out of the picture, in Florida's creative class hierarchy, art is not the new steel – creative capitalism is. Traditional bohemian art represents a somewhat marginal enclave of individuals who fit under the umbrella of "creative class" and who contribute decorative ambience but who have comparatively little economic clout.
Hamilton's top two employers, Hamilton Health Sciences and McMaster University, are high-value examples of Florida's "creative class". The same can be said of Hamilton's plastic surgeons, lab techs, pharmacists, optometrists, veterinarians, engineers, architects, lawyers, bankers, accountants, insurance underwriters, claims adjusters, marketers, PR agencies, broadcasters, programmers, etc. In other words, the well-paid professionals who, when geographically clustered, can significantly improve the economic profile of their host community. Florida posits something fairly unremarkable: Those cities able to attract a large number of well-paid professionals will experience economic growth.
Not only that, but "creative class" jobs permeate traditional market sectors such as manufacturing. Florida himself has argued as much, saying that “the dichotomy between industrial and post-industrial service and manufacturing economies is a false one. As our report says, the distinction is between creative and routine work." Dofasco is a creative class success story.
http://www.creativeclass.com/creative_class/2009/02/27/creative-steel
Arts, design, and media workers constitute a small subset of the creative class (using 2006 census data, Hill Strategies Research estimated that artists contributed $3.2 billion to a $660.7 billion economy, taking home less than half the wages of their non-artist counterparts). Smaller still are the bohemians whose chief value is in creating experiential zones and unique consumer environments such as boutiques, galleries and cafes. (Hill pegs artisans, craftspersons and visual artists at under a quarter of the arts sector
While it is true that cultural workers do belong to the creative class, it is abundantly clear that they by no means have a lock on creativity. Richard Florida, in his keynote at the 2008 Hamilton Economic Summit, said as much: “Entertainment, today, is a bigger economic sector on the world scene than automotive or steel... That’s how big this thing is. And the creative sector of the economy accounts for more wages and salaries than the manufacturing sector, agricultural sector and the service sector – personal service, retail trade, hotel – combined.” Entertainment is the new steel.
Though accorded naming rights on the index, Florida's "bohemians" are a small population whose chief value is in its ability to create experiential zones and uniquely stimulating consumer environments: That's the buskers, specialty boutiques, cafes, galleries and whatnot. What's lost in a lot of the analysis is the broader dynamic of gentrification – that by virtue of their limited earning power (62% are under LICO, with 17% of all visual artists reporting no earnings), bohemians tend to earmark areas of affordable real estate, and all things being equal, investment tends to accrue in areas where there is active development potential and the promise of favourable ROI.
Permalink | Context