The Boston Globe Reviews Richard Florida

Creativity is becoming a driving force in American economic life, argues Richard Florida, a professor of regional economic development at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Economic assets such as natural resources and physical labor have become less of a competitive advantage. Meanwhile, "creativity has come to be valued - and systems have evolved to encourage and harness it - because new technologies, new industries, new wealth and all other good economic things flow from it." Whether the creative work involves writing software code or music or scientific research papers, Florida sees it employing an increasing share of the work force. That, of course, is hardly a new idea; for years now, we have heard about "knowledge workers" and the "Information Economy." What is noteworthy is Florida's theory that this economic shift has created a new societal class - the Creative Class - and his analysis of how that class is influencing our culture. To hear him tell it, everything from office design to work schedules, recreational habits, community life, and regional economic development is being affected by the rise of the Creative Class.

Perhaps the most interesting part of Florida's book is his take on economic development. While some view location as less important in today's virtual economy, Florida disagrees. Because employees and companies are less loyal to one another than they used to be, he sees geographic location as a key organizing principle of today's economy, as the way that people get matched with jobs. "Access to talented and creative people," Florida writes, "is to modern business what access to coal and iron ore was to steelmaking."

aimhi Comment: The Highlands & Islands is one of the huge potential beneficiaries of this phenomenon. Talented people can always work where-ever they want. Over the last decade or so, the region has proven to be irresistable to creative talent looking for a more fulfilling quality of life. Residents of the region range from internationally known composers to best-selling novelists to executive transplants from Fortune 500 firms. If the Highlands & Islands can capitalise on its ability to attract top drawer talent over the next decade, it could lead to a boom that will augment or even overtake the current wave of prosperity experienced.

When you look at the competitive landscape of Europe, there isn't a clear rural region that sucks in talent the way that Colorado does in the United States. This region has a chance to serve as a catchment area for the creatives for whom London, Berlin or Paris just won't do.