The Creative Class Goes Global (Regions and Cities)

The whole landscape of research in urban studies was revolutionized by the publication of Richard Florida’s The Rise of the Creative Class in 2002, and his subsequent book entitled The Flight of the Creative Class has helped to maintain a decade-long explosion of interest in the field. While these two books examine the creative class in the context of the United States, research has emerged which investigates the creative class worldwide.

This book brings together detailed studies of the creative class in cities across the globe, examining the impact of the creative class on growth and development. The countries covered include the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia, China, Japan and Canada, in addition to the United States. Taken together, the contributions deepen our understanding of the creative class and the various factors that affect regional development, highlighting the similarities and differences between the creative class and economic development across countries.

This book will be of great interest to scholars of economic geography, regional economics, urban sociology and cultural policy, as well as policy makers involved in urban development.

Charlotta Mellander is Professor of Economics at Jönköping International Business School, Sweden. She also holds a visiting faculty position at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Canada.

Richard Florida is Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto, Canada, and is also Global Research Professor at New York University, USA. He is the author of the best-selling book The Rise of the Creative Class.

Bjørn T. Asheim is Chair in Economic Geography at Lund University, Sweden. He is also Research Director and Co-founder of CIRCLE, one of the largest research organisations on innovation in Europe.

Meric Gertler is Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto, Canada. He is also Professor of Geography and Planning, and holds the Goldring Chair in Canadian Studies at the University of Toronto.