Build it and they might come.  Build it beautifully, and they will come in droves.

By Alan Cooper
Publisher, MidlandsBiz, UpstateBizSC and LowcountryBizSC

 

The following is based on comments that I made on the South Carolina Business Review hosted by Mike Switzer.

 

What is the number one asset of a business?

Its people. 

How does a business attract and retain great people?

That is not an easy question to answer, but it might go something like this.  The business defines its mission and values in order to establish its culture. It lives and breathes that culture every day and hires people who fit in.

What is the number one asset of a city or region?

Its people. 

How does a region attract and retain great people? An important question for cities to figure out! We are all in an inter-city competition to attract top talent.

In 2002, Richard Florida, an American economist and Head of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, published a book called The Rise of the Creative Class. He argues that creativity is what defines us as human beings; we are inherently problem solvers and experimenters. His main thesis is that this ‘Creative Class’ will be THE driving force for economic development in cities across the United States.  Creativity IS the new economy.  The Creative Class will promote regional growth through innovation – new ideas, new technology, and new content.

Interestingly, Florida’s definition of the Creative Class goes beyond artists, sculptors, musicians and painters, the traditional perception of ‘creative’ types.  It includes anyone who uses their creativity in the workplace – scientists, engineers, educators, computer programmers, designers, and architects. An engineer as part of the creative class?  Absolutely.

In terms of the percentage of workers in the Creative Class, in 2010, South Carolina ranked in the bottom ten of states with 28.5% of workers employed in the Creative Class.  As a point of comparison, Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut, Virginia were a few in the top 10 with around 36% of workers employed in the Creative Class.

What can we do to grow the Creative Class in South Carolina?

First, it is critical that we remain a state where ALL types want to live and work.  We have to be open, tolerant, accepting, and celebrate diversity in all its forms.  “Tolerance – or broadly speaking, openness to diversity – provides an additional source of economic advantage that works alongside technology and talent,” stated Richard Florida. (Thank God that ridiculous bathroom bill didn’t get any traction in South Carolina).

Richard Florida also talked about a Bohemian Index, finding a strong correlation between high concentrations of artists (bohemians) and areas where there are deep pools of skilled technologists and managers.

Second, talented people want to live in “creative, artistic, beautiful cities where authentic activities take place”. (By ‘authentic’ Richard Florida means not just copied from elsewhere). Then do it! Build cool, hip, beautiful urban environments that operate in an environment of tolerance. That is a winning strategy for our South Carolina cities.

Here are just a few of the many, many Creative Class success stories that have appeared on MidlandsBiz, UpstateBizSC and LowcountryBizSC recently.

• Parks are part of the fabric of communities and can help attract residents and businesses. Saluda Shoals Park is expanding in the northwest part of Columbia and recently hosted the world Quidditch championship.  It was a fun, authentic event that attracted young people from all over the country.  Nothing quite like seeing the official Quidditch uniform from the University of Syracuse.
• This spring, the Charleston Parks Conservancy is completing a $5M renovation of Colonial Lake in the heart of the peninsula in Charleston.
• The Columbia Museum of Art recently won a 2016 National Medal for Museum and Library Service for their work with arts educational outreach efforts to at-risk, rural, and underserved communities.  Completed in 1998, the CMA has been a huge catalyst for the revitalization of Main Street. Think of all that has happened around the museum over the past 20 years.
• Spartanburg recently became one of just four cities in the country to earn a Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge for innovative public art projects that engage residents and attract visitors.
• The Swamp Rabbit Trail and the The Liberty Bridge in Falls Park in Greenville are incredible acts of creativity by architects and urban planners. They have brought international attention to the Upstate and made it a great place to live. They are currently looking to expand the Swamp Rabbit Trail.
• Columbia now hosts each spring the incredible, wildly creative Indie Grits festival. Kudos to its host, the Nickelodeon Theater.
• Charleston’s world class Spoleto Festival attracts visitors form all over the world and takes place over 17 days starting on Memorial Day. Attendance has always been between 60,000-80,000 people annually with a mix of 50/50 locals and visitors.
• The Chapman Cultural Center in Spartanburg hosts numerous artistic events throughout the year. The one that caught my attention was the International Kite Festival which took place recently.
• Companies are part of this fabric, creating new ideas and new technologies – my Rotary group was privileged to hear Michael Sechrest from SpeedTree in Lexington, SC. They developed the technology that creates trees in video games and movies.  They recently earned an Academy Award for technological achievement.  You can see their work in movies like Star Wars and the recently released Jungle Book.  We need to celebrate the big hits for technology companies in South Carolina.
• The new Gaillard Center in Charleston is a beautiful new performance hall in the heart of downtown Charleston, but also a meeting place, and government offices.
• The historic preservation of buildings like the Palmetto Compress Building in Columbia are critical to a city’s identity. The building was slated for demolition because its renovation was deemed too complicated. Thanks to the team at the Garvin Design Group, they figured out a way (using their creativity) to not only preserve the building, but also create something new and beautiful.
• The Town of Summerville managed to purchase $470,000 worth of public art and formed an organization, “Sculpture in the South,” that allows residents to experience art as part of their everyday lives.

This list could literally go on for pages and pages.

How do you make your city attractive to young talent, the Creative Class? Build a beautiful city!

Build it and they might come.  Build it beautifully, and they will come in droves.