As I mentioned in a previous post here, I was asked to do a Q&A on the Freakonomics blog in the New York Times. Readers posed their questions about “Best Places” studies, and now I’ve posted my responses.
We had more than 60 questions, and they were all interesting and thoughtful. They covered the quality of life in Scandinavia, the effect of our Best Places studies on cities, Wasilla, boring Dallas, and whether I get offered bribes to influence our rankings. In my responses, I addressed the effect of the creative class and how Richard’s work impacts our research in finding the Best Places to live, work, and play.
People asked if I’m holding a bowling bag in the photo which they used. And the answer is yes – and here’s the full picture. I’m including it because this is my homage to Bob Putnam’s “Bowling Alone.” I saw they were going to remodel this local building with these very cool old bowling illustrations, and I had to capture them in case they were gone forever. And sure enough, weeks later they were just a memory.
October 17th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Great replies, Bert – and a lot of work! What questions surprised you most? And was there anything you were expecting to be asked that didn’t materialize?
October 17th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Hi Elizabeth,
You’re right, it was a surprising amount of work!
There were four or five questions/comments focusing on the Dallas area, and how sterile and boring it seemed. It certainly validated the theory that people want a challenging vibrant environment which engages them on many different levels.
Of course, I don’t think Dallas is unique in this sense. This ’sameness’ and one-dimensional quality can be found in many large and small cities.
Also, readers seemed interested in the effect that these studies have on the places which were ranked especially well or poorly. A couple asked whether I receive bribes for favorable rankings, or to downgrade a competitor city. Hadn’t thought about that one before.
I think was one passing question regarding feedback from residents and validation of our findings, and I would have expected more. That’s one of the most enjoyable aspects, getting unsolicitated comments that we’ve ‘hit the nail on the head’ with our studies.
Thanks for writing.
Bert