Urban studies scholar Richard Florida first popularized the idea of the creative class. Now he argues that saving the last shreds of the factory-driven industrial system makes no sense. A massive overhaul is underway, and knowledge workers are its new vanguard. Florida makes his points in short, punchy chapters, but steps away from stating the obvious. getAbstract recommends this book to economists, politicians, urban planners and anyone wanting a sense of the likely future.
Where the US Has Been and Where It’s Going
Today’s economic crisis has been in the works for years. And, the US has endured major downturns before, in the 1870s and the 1930s. Such times of upheaval are “Great Resets,” when the economy remakes itself for a new kind of prosperity. Resets change where you live and work – a “spatial fix.” This new society will be less anchored and more mobile, with rental housing rather than home ownership, and public transportation rather than cars. Enormous megalopolises will emerge as engines of economic purpose.
The “Long Depression” of 1873 arrived on the back of banking woes spurred by bad mortgages and high-wire financial products. This fiscal catastrophe marked the birth of big industry, as advances took hold in steam turbines, internal combustion engines and steelmaking. This was the time of Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, inventors who created industrial systems. Those systems improved railroads, produced trolley cars, and promoted the development of public schools focused on literacy and social skills for future factory workers. College availability grew and education expanded, particularly in training engineers.
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