Creative
The Creative Heat In The East
I’m a sucker for good visual data and the map generated by Kevin Stolarick at the Richard Florida Creativity Group is particularly interesting. Using data on where the creative class lives, county by county, he has been able to show the ‘heat’ of the creative hotspots and the spillover into neighboring areas. (Click here for the pdf containing drill-down views of different U.S. regions)
Even though Kevin provides a brief glimpse at his methodology, I’m still not sure about the data he’s using. It would be interesting to see it in its raw form.
So, the question I have as I look over this map is what this means for businesses and for creatives. For the latter, it clearly shows where to find other creatives and probably more fulfilling work options.
Some questions to ponder:
Is there a reason why Arizona, Nevada, and much of the west are relatively cool to creatives? It’s interesting that Southern California doesn’t factor into the map. New Orleans is still fairly hot. The area around Cincinnati is positively smoking. Bear in mind that I haven’t really dug into Florida’s core research so I find these trends curious.
Is geography still an important influence? We hear about creative folks ditching the big city scene for the small town or rural environment. And as long as there is a basic supportive infrastructure - I’m going to put high-speed internet/communications toward the top of that list - can’t you just move out to Santa Fe, New Mexico or Fargo, ND for a more creatively conducive environment? Will there be a point where the internet (or another future technology…like teleportation…I’m serious) will make geography an obsolete concept?
Do you see something interesting about the map? Any surprises?
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I’m kinda bummed that Hawaii didn’t even make it into the picture …
Maybe we were too hot to handle?!?
Hawaii and Alaska seem to frequently get the shaft. Maybe we can petition Kevin to work up a version 2 with our 49th and 50th states?
But what’s your anecdotal evidence say, Rosa? Would you say the climate is conducive and attractive for creatives in Hawaii?
Wow, Chris, I’m amazed at the picture. Having moved from Cincinnati 3 years ago (after living there for 30 years), I have to admit I’m surprised it’s so hot with creatives. There are supposed to be some concentrated “spiritual vortices” in that area, however, whatever that means.
We moved to Greenville SC, which is apparently the 5th fastest growing metropolitan area in the country. It’s all very interesting . . . !
Putting a new link in the url box of my comment for you Chris, with more on this from Inc. on “Where New Ideas Flourish.”
Sadly, based on their criteria, I can understand why Hawaii ranked at 41 out of 50 (Alaska is at 25, and your new home state is at 14) Creativity for them was idea/innovation generation, and not the more artistic side of the equation.
That’s fascinating, Deb. I never would have guessed that Greenville is growing that fast.
What’s doubly fascinating is the relativity of the data displayed on the map. Let’s take my boyhood home of West Virginia. By the amount of red shown on the map and it’s proximity to hotspots like Northern Virginia and Cincinnati, it looks like there should be creatives there (ot at least fertile ground). However, take the link that Rosa provided (thanks, Rosa) and WV ranks dead last in innovation.
I understand what defines creatives and innovation may be different, but there seems to be a lot of discrepancy at play here.
These pockets of creativity have everything to do with social interaction. Florida also says the more openness to the region, the more creatives. He parallels the amount of gay people as an indicator of overall region creativity. He has some fascinating research. http://www.creativeclass.com
btw, Hi Chris! I love your site brother.