Monthly Archives

November 2018

Opinion EditorialsRichard Florida Columns

Wall Street Journal : Can the U.S. Keep Its High-Tech Edge?

While recent headlines have blared about the Trump administration’s multi-front trade war with Canadian dairy farmers, Chinese manufacturers and the European Union’s steel, aluminum and automotive industries, a much larger economic threat has gone virtually unnoticed. The high-tech startups that have provided the U.S. with a powerful edge in fields such as computers, software, mobile devices, biotech, the internet and an array of digital platforms now face rapidly increasing pressures from foreign competition. This looming crisis of American innovation could undermine the nation’s long-running global advantage in bringing to market the next new technology, the next new industry, the next big thing. It may well be the gravest challenge yet to America’s century-plus hold on global economic hegemony.

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November 16, 2018
Events

The Detroit News : Dan Gilbert discusses impact of private sector at CityLab Detroit

If city and civic leaders want an example of how instrumental the private sector can be in the transformation of a city, they can look at billionaire investor Dan Gilbert. Gilbert and his family of companies were highlighted during a Monday afternoon session for CityLab, a three-day conference at the GM Renaissance Center with participants from 156 cities across 27 countries. He sat down for a chat with Richard Florida, co-founder and editor at large of CityLab.com and senior editor of The Atlantic.

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November 16, 2018
CanadaOpinion EditorialsRichard Florida Columns

The Globe and Mail : Solving Canada’s startup dilemma

Canada, we increasingly hear, is becoming a global leader in high-tech innovation and entrepreneurship. Report after report has ranked Toronto, Waterloo and Vancouver among the world’s most up-and-coming tech hubs. Toronto placed fourth in a ranking of North American tech talent this past summer, behind only the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and Washington, and in 2017 its metro area added more tech jobs than those other three city-regions combined.

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November 16, 2018
Opinion EditorialsRichard Florida Columns

New York Daily News : Our real national divide: Local America vs. National America

It goes without saying: Ours is a divided nation. But the real boundary doesn’t run between Blue or Red states, liberal and conservative ideologies, or urban versus rural regions. No, the real divide in America is one of scale. Richard Florida and Mick Cornett belong to different political parties, and differ sharply on a number of policy views. But they share a core belief that our country’s future lies in Local America.

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November 16, 2018
CanadaEvents

Toronto Star : Toronto is a ‘city state’ and needs to start acting like it: Richard Florida

Toronto is a city on “the brink” of not fully realizing its potential and must think about a new model for growth if it wants to thrive and stand out as an example of a modern global metropolis, says urban studies expert Richard Florida. Speaking at Urban Land Institute Toronto’s symposium on Toronto urbanism, Florida, one of the world’s leading urban thinkers and a professor at the University of Toronto’s school of cities and Rotman School of Management, said Toronto is an incredible city but one that faces significant challenges including housing affordability, a “worsening class divide” and woeful traffic congestion.

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November 16, 2018
Opinion EditorialsRichard Florida Columns

The Globe and Mail : How Toronto can curb gun violence

A shadow hangs over Toronto after Sunday’s shooting on the Danforth. The recent killing spree follows on the heels of a vehicle attack on Yonge Street this spring and a raft of shootings, including one with small children in the crossfire last month. The city’s international reputation as a multicultural success story seems at risk, as Torontonians fear they are succumbing to the twin threats of gun violence and terrorism vexing other global cities.

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November 15, 2018
Opinion EditorialsRichard Florida Columns

Medium : Toronto’s Deadly Car Crisis

Torontonians like to sound off on Americans’ inability to deal with guns and gun deaths. But Toronto’ s inability to deal with the car creates its own killing fields. Today, more Torontonians die from being hit by cars than from being killed by guns. In 2016, nearly 2,000 pedestrians and 1,000 cyclists in the city were hit by cars. Of these, 43 resulted in fatalities.

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November 15, 2018
CitiesEvents

Urban Land Magazine : Keeping Life Affordable in Asia’s Fast-Growing Cities

Growing cities such as Hong Kong are at the epicenter of what Richard Florida has dubbed “the new urban crisis,” with the city’s success sending house prices soaring out of reach of the average resident. The author and urbanist, who is director of cities at the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto, spoke at the 2018 ULI Asia Pacific Summit in Hong Kong.

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November 15, 2018
Miami Urban Future Initiative

Florida Trend : Miami Ranks First in the U.S. for Foreign Born Residents and International Cargo

Miami ranks first among large U.S. metros for the share of its residents who are immigrants (41 percent of the population), placing the metro ahead of San Jose, L.A., and San Francisco, according to a new research brief from the FIU + CCG | Miami Urban Future Initiative (MUFI). The report also finds that Miami ranks first among large U.S. metros according to the amount of merchandise goods, commodities, and cargo that it transported internationally in 2016 ($1.5 million tons).

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November 15, 2018
Miami Urban Future Initiative

PR Newswire : Miami Ranks First in the U.S. for Foreign Born Residents and International Cargo

Miami ranks first among large U.S. metros for the share of its residents who are immigrants (41% of the population), placing the metro ahead of San Jose, L.A., and San Francisco, according to a new research brief from the FIU + CCG | Miami Urban Future Initiative (MUFI). The report also finds that Miami ranks first among large U.S. metros according to the amount of merchandise goods, commodities, and cargo that it transported internationally in 2016 ($1.5 million tons).

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November 15, 2018
Opinion EditorialsRichard Florida Columns

The Globe and Mail : The economic price of electing Doug Ford

Ontario’s recent economic success is the product of longer-run investments in universities, arts and culture; advanced research in key fields like artificial intelligence; openness to immigrants; and a growing commitment to place-making and city-building. This economic advantage will be significantly diminished if Doug Ford becomes premier of Ontario. Comparisons are already being made between Mr. Ford and Mr. Trump, as well as between Mr. Trump and Mr. Ford’s late younger brother, Rob, the original North American populist. All three positioned themselves as advocates for the “little guy,” slashing taxes and cutting back government. Like Mr. Trump, Doug Ford has even hired actors for campaign events.

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November 15, 2018
Employment

The Washington Post : He went from jail to a $22-an-hour job. How can America get more stories like this?

This article references the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Reports : Can Low-Wage Workers Find Better Jobs?
authored by Richard Florida, Todd Gabe, and Jaison R. Abel. There is growing concern over rising economic inequality, the decline of the middle class, and a polarization of the U.S. workforce. This study examines the extent to which low-wage workers in the United States transition to better jobs, and explores the factors associated with uch a move up the job ladder.

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November 15, 2018
Files / Working Papers

Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Reports : Can Low-Wage Workers Find Better Jobs?

There is growing concern over rising economic inequality, the decline of the middle class, and a polarization of the U.S. workforce. This study authored by Richard Florida, Todd Gabe, and Jaison R. Abel, examines the extent to which low-wage workers in the United States transition to better jobs, and explores the factors associated with uch a move up the job ladder.

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November 15, 2018
Rise of the Creative Class News Articles

The Detroit Free Press : Design industries are critical to Detroit’s future but need nurturing

Back in 2002, urban guru Richard Florida published his influential book “The Rise of the Creative Class,” which highlighted the importance of so-called “creatives” — artists, graphic designers, architects, and others — to the vitality of cities trying to overcome long-term decline. Florida’s book helped set the agenda for many a city, including Detroit, where the CEO group Business Leaders for Michigan launched the Detroit Creative Corridor Center in 2010.

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November 15, 2018
Miami Urban Future Initiative

PR Newswire : Miami Startups Receive $1.3 Billion in Venture Capital – 8th in the U.S.

Miami ranks eighth among large U.S. metros for the total amount of venture capital invested in its high-tech startups ($1.3 billion in 2016), according to a new research brief from the FIU + CCG | Miami Urban Future Initiative (MUFI). The brief also finds that Miami’s high-tech companies each earned an average of $14.2 million in venture capital investment in 2016—the second-highest share among large metros.

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November 15, 2018
Opinion EditorialsRichard Florida Columns

Toronto Star : Canada should be winning even more Olympic gold

With the help of his colleagues at the University of Toronto’s Martin Prosperity Institute, Patrick Adler and Charlotta Mellander, Richard Florida ranked Canada’s, and each nation’s Olympic medal performance relative to their population, size of their economy and number of athletes on their Olympic teams. So, how does Canada’s performance measure up on metrics like these?

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November 15, 2018