The ‘Creative Class’ and Comeback Cities: Beyond the Hype [View all]

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http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/13033/the_creative_class_and_comeback_cities_beyond_the_hype/

BOULDER, CO—What does it mean for a down-on-its-luck city to "come back"? "Comeback city" is a catch phrase today, with some of the brightest minds in urban planning studying, experimenting upon and opining about what it takes for a de-industrialized metropolis like Detroit, Cleveland or Albany to transform itself into a vibrant, attractive destination known for its culture and livability rather than one key industry.

I pondered the question of what it really means for a city to "come back" during and after a panel on Rust Belt cities at the Conference on World Affairs in Boulder this week. The conference is an eclectic event in its 64th year that throws together public intellectuals discussing a wide variety of topics with the intent seemingly of raising more questions than answers.

I became increasingly frustrated by some of the early discussion in the Rust Belt panel, which echoed the prevailing rhetoric on this topic—the idea that reviving decaying cities depends upon "rebranding" them and attracting the "creative class" of graphic designers, computer programmers, artists, musicians, writers and hip café and restaurant owners who create a desirable and trendy place to live. It was all about convincing an educated, innovative, hip demographic to move to these cities, and creating universities, information technology hubs, urban farms, arts districts and the like to employ and entertain them. It sounded almost like a competition between cities to lure the coolest and most interesting, in hopes of becoming the next Silicon Valley.

That’s all well and good, I thought, but what about all the people who already live in these cities?

Though many of these cities have hemorrhaged population in the past few decades, they are still home to hundreds of thousands of people. Surely there are plenty of creative, artistic and interesting people among the current residents, who either don’t have the luxury of exploring and developing their talents because of their daily struggle to survive, or who are producing creative and intellectual work that is not recognized or supported by the governmental, cultural and social powers that be.