Volunteer Portraits

May 3, 2003: The Memphis Creative Class

Creative Possibilities for Greensboro

Recently a downtown resident and entrepreneur taking part in a discussion at Action Greensboro about how we might engage our creative citizens to spur economic development made the suggestion that "Greensboro can be Florence to Charlotte’s Rome". If you remember from ancient history, Rome was where the politicians and military people did their command thing, but Florence was where art and architecture were explored and perfected. What an intriguing idea: that Greensboro’s reputation will be for its art and creative talent!

The occasion for this discussion about creativity was a visit by Rod Frantz, the president of Richard Florida’s Creativity Group. If you’re not familiar with Richard Florida, the H. John Heinz III Professor of Economic Development at Carnegie Melon University, he is the author of The Rise of the Creative Class. He has devised a "creativity index" to predict how successful communities will be in attracting a creative workforce and translating that advantage into innovation, new high-tech businesses and regional growth. Florida contends that corporate profits and economic growth will increasingly depend on the "creative class", a highly educated and well-paid segment of the workforce who value creativity, individuality, diversity, and merit. They hold a wide variety of jobs, from entertainment to technology, journalism to finance, science to the arts. They engage in creative problem solving and are required to think on their own, apply standard approaches in unique ways, exercise judgment, and, from time to time, try something radically new. Companies and organizations are increasingly valuing creativity for the results it produces, and individuals value it as a means to self-expression and job satisfaction.

Creative centers are places where newcomers are accepted quickly, and where people can find opportunity and be themselves. These communities are authentic and unique, as revealed by historic buildings, established neighborhoods, or original cultural attributes. They have nightlife with a wide variety of options and active outdoor recreation.

Action Greensboro is sending a group of eleven young professionals to a two-day national summit in Memphis, TN hosted by Richard Florida’s organization and designed to develop a manifesto for cities that want to become magnets for the creative class. The Memphis Manifesto Summit on May 1-2, 2003 will bring together the "Creative 100"—100 of the brightest minds in the nation—to produce a planning tool for business leaders and elected representatives in cities competing for creative talent.

You can read more about the creative class and how various cities rank at http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2001/0205.florida.html. We’ll report in July on the great new ideas our young Greensboro professionals bring back from the Memphis Summit

Left to right: Amy Lytle--almost out of the frame, Tracie Leonard, Ivan Canada, Rod Frantz, and Kate Shugart