The Rise Of The Creative Class, Richard Florida

From the bookshelf of Sean Pillot de Chenecey, Captain Crikey

While the cult of youth may be tedious to some - just how often can you repeat the mantra about relevance, authenticity and empathy - it is worth taking an objective look at the real economic benefits of youth culture.

I recently spoke at Fashion Week in Melbourne, along with Richard Florida - an American economics professor whose bestselling book The Rise of the Creative Class has gained global attention.

His thesis is simple, yet challenging. In a knowledge-based economy, he argues, what counts is how cool and 'open' a city is and highlighting the importance of youth culture and its attendant and established demands for liberalism and inclusion. If his theory is correct, town planners, government officials and everyone else involved in the infrastructure of everyday life can throw away old measures of what makes a local economy successful.

He cites cities such as San Francisco, Austin TX, Boston, Newcastle, Madrid, Berlin, London, Barcelona, Milan and Stockholm as classic examples of cities that are 'getting it right'. All of them vibrant hubs of youth culture - all of them tolerant, liberal and inclusive.

The book is a fun, intelligent read. The results are plain though. Whether you like it or not, youth culture shows no signs of fading away, even if real creativity is often stifled by the dead-hand of corporate involvement.

This article appeared in Brand Strategy, the monthly, thought-leading marketing magazine. www.brandstrategy.co.uk/subs