[Mpls] "Urban Legends" from The New Republic: Debunking Richard Florida-ism

[Mike Jensvold]

I've been very suspicious of Richard Florida-ism (The Rise of the Creative 
Class) since I first heard of him.  The following article from The New 
Republic debunks much of Florida-ism and the notion that the past decade or 
so has been pretty good for American cities and things are getting 
better.  Minneapolis is mentioned twice.  The policies discussed are 
relevant here as in any big American city.

http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=w050523&s=kotkin052305

Some excerpts:

"..the renaissance of American cities has been greatly overstated--and this 
unwarranted optimism is doing a disservice to cities themselves. Urban 
politics has become self-satisfied and triumphalist, content to see cities 
promote the appearance of thriving while failing to serve the very 
people--families, immigrants, often minorities--who most need cities to be 
decent, livable places."


-Myth No. 1: Cities are again gaining people.

"..Cities, meanwhile, are becoming ever smaller parts of their metro areas. 
Minneapolis is a prime example. In the '90s the Midwestern city's 
population grew roughly four percent. Since 2000 it has shrunk by 2.5 
percent, losing some 10,000 people; in contrast the surrounding suburban 
region grew by over 100,000.

"..Overall, the back to downtown movement has constituted.. 'more of a 
trickle than a rush.' "

-Myth No. 2: Cities are where the successful people are.

"..today, many educated people come to the cities for a relatively brief 
period of their lives, notably their twenties, only to return to their 
hometowns, smaller cities, or suburbs as they reach their thirties. And 
with improvements in telecommunications technology, increasingly they find 
they can compete just as well from outside cities as from inside them."

-Myth No. 3: Cool cities attract the best jobs; uncool cities don't.

"..the dominant player in global merchandising, Wal-Mart, operates out of 
the cool metropolis of Bentonville, Arkansas."

"These myths are particularly problematic when they become the basis for 
policy. And in many cities, that is exactly what is happening. Policies 
based on these myths aren't just a waste of time and resources. They are 
also distracting cities from the real work of securing their future.. 
deal(ing) with the hard issues like public education, job training, 
promoting small companies, and transportation"

"Many mayors and governors seem to be relying on a "bread and circuses" 
strategy for revitalizing their cities. According to this logic, if cities 
can only put on a better show--in terms of arts, sports, conventions, and 
other amusements--they will become irresistible not only to tourists but 
also to educated workers and the companies that employ them."

"Cities must return to a progressive focus on fixing their real 
problems--that is, the problems of the majority of the people who live 
there--not serving the interests of artists, hipsters, and their wealthy 
patrons. Right now school reform is often hostage to the power of teachers' 
unions. City budgets, which could be applied to improving economic 
infrastructure, are frequently bloated by, among other things, excessive 
public sector employment and overgenerous pensions. In the contest for the 
remaining public funds, the knitted interests of downtown property holders, 
arts foundations, sports promoters, and nightclub owners often overwhelm 
those of more conventional small businesses and family-oriented 
neighborhoods that could serve as havens for the middle class"


So much of this sounds so familiar..

-Mike Jensvold
East Isles