Creative Class - Criticisms

Criticisms

Numerous studies have found fault with the logic or empirical claims of the Creative Class theory. Hoyman and Faricy (2009), using Florida’s own indices, find no statistical evidence that cities with higher proportions of Creative Class workers correlated with any type of economic growth from 1990–2004. In "Urban Development and the Politics of the Creative Class", Ann Markusen (2006) argues that workers qualified as being in the Creative Class have no concept of group identity, nor are they in occupations that are inherently creative. Markusen also notes that the definition of the Creative Class is based largely on educational attainment, suggesting that Florida’s indices become insignificant after controlling for education (p. 1923). Jamie Peck's (2005) "Struggling with the Creative Class" argues that the Creative Class theory offers no causal mechanism and suffers from circular logic. John Montgomery (2005) writes that “what Florida has devised is a set of indices which simply mirror more fundamental truths about creative milieux or dynamic cities” (p. 339). Montgomery also disagrees with the cities that Florida designates as most creative, writing that London, not Manchester and Leicester, should be one of the top in the U.K. A critique of Florida's research and theoretical framework has been developed by Matteo Pasquinelli (2006) in the context of Italian Operaismo.

Creative Class Struggle, a Toronto-based collective, has brought these criticisms outside academic circles, challenging Florida's Creative Class theories as well as their widespread adoption into urban policy. The group manages an online clearinghouse for information about creative city strategies and policies, publishes a newsletter and other materials, and works to engage the media and public in critical discussion. In June 2009, Creative Class Struggle and art magazine Fuse organized a public forum in Toronto to debate these issues.