Richard’s new piece Where the Brains Are in the October 2006 Atlantic Monthly is out.
From the piece,
“What matters today isn’t where most people settle, but where the greatest number of the most-skilled people does. Because the return on colocation among the ablest is so high, and because high-end incomes are rising so fast, it makes sense for these workers to continue to bid up real estate and accept other costs that traditional middle-class workers and families cannot afford. As traditional middle-class households are discplaced by smaller, higher-income households, population can decline even as economic growth continues. America’s most successful cities may incrasingly be inhabited by a core of wealthy workers leading highly priveledged lives, catered to by an underclass of service workers living in far-off suburbs.”
Enjoy the piece and let us know what you think.
(posted by David)
September 13th, 2006 at 10:40 pm
Intriguing piece. The one question I have for Richard is whether this means the more spontaneous, independent creative culture will get pushed out of these cities. When artists, musicians, and basement entrepreneurs cannot afford to live there, then they may leave and take their creative energy with them. If I understand Richard’s previous work correctly, he argues that the presence of a wide range of creative outlets is what draws the higher priced creative talent.
But then they push out the very people who’s lives attracted them to the city. Will this mean the city will go into decline and new cities rise?
Perhaps I should figure out where the displaced San Francisco artists have gone, and start buying up real estate.
September 18th, 2006 at 11:17 am
“Perhaps I should figure out where the displaced San Francisco artists have gone, and start buying up real estate.”
You absolutely should!
Current data shows that many former citizens of CA are moving to places like the Denver, CO area. And the economy here (I live there now, myself) has remained strong, even through the past five years. High Tech is still moving in, and plenty of startups are taking off.
Welcome to Denver.