Could the Creative Class be a Factor in Scottish Rural Development?

Abstract

This paper reviews the applicability of Florida's creative class concept to rural Scotland. It builds on recognition that environmental quality is a powerful attractant to businesses and in-migrants in Scotland, although to date no Scottish analysts of rural regeneration have used Florida's terminology or ideas to any significant degree. This is in spite of compelling evidence that, with uncontroversial modifications to the definition of the creative class, his analysis of the relationship between the presence of creative class members and growth can be confirmed in rural North America. The paper explores some of the challenges of the creative class hypothesis, including defining membership. It recognises some of the difficulties encountered in trying to ascertain the direction of causation with respect to the creative class: are members attracted to areas by the demand for employment or because of the social and environmental qualities of particular places? The paper also recognises that creative class ideas may not resonate especially strongly with endogenous (i.e. internally originating) development ideas, which are more rooted in strong place-based communities as vectors of growth than mobile incomers. The paper highlights three main areas of research to address these questions.