Dan, when I read this: "Geographic concentration encourages innovation because ideas flow more freely, are honed more sharply, and can be put into practice more quickly when innovators, implementers, and financial backers are in constant contact. Creative people cluster not simply because they like to be around one another or prefer cosmopolitan centers with lots of amenities (though both things tend to be true). They cluster because density brings such powerful productivity advantages, economies of scale, and knowledge spillovers."
I couldn't help think how many IxDers found Espresso Gallery in Savannah last week (2 weeks ago? Sad!)... On Thu, Feb 21, 2008 at 10:49 AM, Dan Saffer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On Feb 21, 2008, at 7:26 AM, Dan Saffer wrote: > > > Location still matters. > > > > Just to follow up on my own comment (hee), here's an excerpt from > Richard "Creative Class" Florida's new book, "Who's Your City? How the > Creative Economy Is Making Where You Live the Most Important Decision > of Your Life." > > <http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/123/in-praise-of-spikes.html> > > It's a mantra of the age of globalization that place doesn't matter. > Technology has leveled the global playing field--the world is flat. > "When the world is flat," says New York Times columnist Thomas > Friedman, "you can innovate without having to emigrate." > > It's a compelling notion--but it's wrong. Today's global economy is > spiky. What's more, the tallest spikes, the cities and regions that > drive the world economy, are growing ever higher while the valleys, > with little economic activity, recede still further. > > ... > > Geographic concentration encourages innovation because ideas flow more > freely, are honed more sharply, and can be put into practice more > quickly when innovators, implementers, and financial backers are in > constant contact. Creative people cluster not simply because they like > to be around one another or prefer cosmopolitan centers with lots of > amenities (though both things tend to be true). They cluster because > density brings such powerful productivity advantages, economies of > scale, and knowledge spillovers. > > ... > > The main difference between now and a couple of decades ago is that > the economic and social distance between the peaks has gotten smaller. > People in spiky places are often more connected to one another, even > from half a world away, than they are to people in their own > backyards. This peak-to-peak connectivity is accelerated by the highly > mobile, global creative class, about 150 million people, who migrate > freely among the world's leading cities--places such as London, New > York, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Chicago, Los Angeles, and > San Francisco. > > Meanwhile, second-tier cities from Detroit to Nagoya to Bangalore are > locked in potentially devastating competition for jobs, people, and > investment. And in the so-called developing world, millions upon > millions of people whose culture and traditions are being ripped apart > by globalization lack the education, skills, or mobility to connect to > the world economy. They are stuck in places that are falling further > and further behind. > ________________________________________________________________ > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help > -- ~ will "No matter how beautiful, no matter how cool your interface, it would be better if there were less of it." Alan Cooper - "Where you innovate, how you innovate, and what you innovate are design problems" ------------------------------------------------------- will evans user experience architect [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------------- ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
