Intended to show how the world could transform after the financial crisis of 2008, the book may be even more useful now. MK

How the post-crash economy will change the way we live and work

Not very usefull. There is not actual ' creative class ' , it's just something some people found themsleves doing. ( )

Not very usefull. There is not actual ' creative class ' , it's just something some people found themsleves doing. ( )

Richard Florida, whose books including "The Rise of the Creative Class" consistently document what he believes to be the growing influence of that class, returns in his latest work with a recession-era manifesto suggesting ways we can work together to foster that class and engage in a major reset of how we work and prosper. “We are living through an even more powerful and fundamental economic shift, from an industrial system to an economy that is increasingly powered by knowledge, creativity, and ideas,” he suggests (p. 111), so we need to respond to people’s desire “to learn, to develop new competencies, and to grow their capacity and confidence, through training and development and through promotion from within” (p. 121).

Drawing from and acknowledging the work of writers including Jane Jacobs ("The Economy of Cities") and Lewis Mumford ("The City in History") to talk about the importance of communities and subcommunities, he looks at the role technology and infrastructure play in developing and nurturing communities (p. 21) and envisions a resurgence “driven by community groups and citizen-led initiatives” rather than “from top-down policies imposed by local governments” (p. 82).

The great news for those of us involved in workplace learning and performance is that education and training, according to Florida, are key elements in this process: “When the mills closed in the 1970s and 1980s, people in Pittsburgh went out and got training and college degrees”—a collective action that he and others cite as part of the reason for Pittsburgh’s Reset successes (p. 78). As he concludes his survey of how we have dealt with past economic crises and suggests ways to nurture the creativity he believes is essential to our success, he ties his various themes together: “Education and infrastructure, creativity, and connectivity—these are things we can address, things we must improve and ensure to see this Reset through and build a new prosperity” (p. 186). ( )