Doing a Florida thing: the creative class thesis and cultural policy

Abstract

The work of Richard Florida has proven extremely influential in cultural policy circles in recent years. His arguments concerning ‘the rise of the creative class’ and the concentration of ‘technology, talent and tolerance’ in successful cities are grounded in certain theoretical assumptions and supported by specific kinds of evidence that should be submitted to critical interrogation in order to test their robustness. This paper addresses the following questions: What are the theoretical assumptions underpinning Florida’s arguments? Is the evidence upon which these arguments are substantiated sound? What are the implications of Florida’s thesis for cultural policy? A critical reading of Florida’s key writings is presented. The paper also comments on the impact of Florida’s work around the world and focuses upon a particularly significant policy document in Britain, the Work Foundation’s Staying Ahead – The Economic Performance of the UK’s Creative Industries. It is necessary to trace the intellectual framework of ‘post‐industrial’ thinking about contemporary capitalism, the incorporation of bohemianism into business and aspirations for urban regeneration and competitive advantage in a global economy with local and regional peculiarities in order to evaluate the ‘Florida thing’. The paper reflects upon the synthesis of cultural policy with economic policy and argues that this is not the best way forward for the politics of art and culture in the twenty‐first century.