Neoliberalising the City ‘Creative-Class’ Style

Abstract

Notions surrounding ‘creativity’ have become key elements of Dublin’s policy formation over the last decade. Predominantly, this policy focus has been influenced by Richard Florida’s ‘creative-class’ thesis. For Florida (2002), the future of urban economies revolves around the attraction and retention of the ‘creative class’. Loosely speaking, the ‘creative class’ comprises workers in fields such as the arts, academia, the sciences as well as the legal profession and business management. Florida suggests that in order to remain competitive, cities must promote the type of environment to which the ‘creative class’ is attracted because companies (and highly mobile investment capital) are attracted to where these individuals are located. This environment comprises city centre locations with high-quality amenities, such as bars, restaurants and good quality public space. Given the attraction of the city image projected by the ‘creative-class’ thesis, it has proved popular with city authorities on a global scale, and particularly in North America and Europe (Peck, 2005; Houston et al, 2008; Zimmerman, 2008). While the ‘creative-class’ concept emerged during a period of relative economic prosperity, it has proved a particularly resilient form of policy in the context of the global financial crisis. Indeed, in the example of Dublin, the influence of the ‘creative class’ has, if anything, taken on a greater significance during the economic downturn.