What Draws Creative People? Quality of Place, Richard Florida, UrbanLand, October 11, 2012

Patty Nicoson, Chairman of the Reston Task Force, shared this article with members of the task force.  It provides a tilt on the "quality of life" concept called "quality of place."  From this person's perspective, quality of place is a prerequisite for quality of life.

Here are some excerpts:

Why do people—especially talented Creative Class people, who have lots of choices—opt to locate in certain places? What draws them to some places and not to others? Economists and social scientists have paid a great deal of attention to the location decisions of companies, but they have virtually ignored how people, especially creative people, make the same choices. . .

Place itself, I began to realize, was the key factor. So much so, that I coined a term—quality of place—to sum it up. I use the term in contrast with the more traditional concept of quality of life to cover the unique set of characteristics that define a place and make it attractive. Over time, my colleagues and I have come to refer to these characteristics as Territorial Assets, the fourth T of economic development after Technology, Talent, and Tolerance (what I have elsewhere called the 3Ts of Economic Growth).

Generally, one can think of quality of place as cutting across three key dimensions:

• What’s there: the combination of the built environment and the natural environment; a stimulating, appealing setting for the pursuit of creative lives.
• Who’s there: diverse people of all ethnicities, nationalities, religions, and sexual orientations, interacting and providing clear cues that this is a community where anyone can fit in and make a life.
• What’s going on: the vibrancy of the street life, café culture, arts, and music; the visible presence of people engaging in outdoor activities—altogether a lot of active, exciting, creative goings-ons. . . .

Click here for the rest of this interesting article.