Who’s Your City?
How the creative economy is aking where to live the most important decision of your life
By Richard Florida
How the Creative Economy is Making the Place Where You Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life.
It’s a mantra of the age of globalization that where you live doesn’t matter: you can telecommute to your high-tech Silicon Valley job, a ski-slope in Idaho, a beach in Hawaii or a loft in Chicago; you can innovate from Shanghai or Bangalore.
According to Richard Florida, this is wrong. Place is not only important, it’s more important than ever.
Globalization is not flattening the world; on the contrary, the world is spiky. Place is becoming more relevant to the global economy and our individual lives. The choice of where to live, therefore, is not an arbitrary one. It is arguably the most important decision we make, as important as choosing a spouse or a career. In fact, place exerts powerful influence over the jobs and careers we have access to, the people we meet and our “mating markets” and our ability to lead happy and fulfilled lives.
Who’s Your City provides the first ever-rankings of cities by life-stage, rating the best places for singles, young families and empty-nesters. And it grounds its new ideas and data to provide an essential guide for the more than 40 million Americans of who move each year on how to choose where to live, and what those choices mean for their lives, happiness and communities.
“A great book”
John Sexton, New York University President, December 2009
“…read Richard Florida’s stuff — which the Obama-ites in the White House love — suggesting links between cities will create mega-hubs of economic power that are the future of the continental economy.”
Vancouver Sun, July 2009
“Of all of the books I’ve read by Richard Florida this has by far been the most compelling. Whether you’re a city lover, have a keen interest in our economy, or an arm-chair social scientist seeking to understand global trends then this book with give you much to ponder.”
The Urban Loft, June 2009
“Best Business Seller”
Financial Post, May 25 2009
“‘Who’s Your City?’ provides the first-ever rankings of cities by ‘life stage’, rating the best places for singles, young families and empty-nesters. The book shows readers how to choose where to live, and what those choices mean for their lives, happiness and communities.”
Times Union, May 3 2009
“4 our of 5 stars for this engagingly written book”
BBC Focus Magazine, May 2009
“Excellent book! From personal experience I agree that choice of where to live is the most important factor in one’s personal happiness.”
Rheba Estante, Examiner.com, March 26 2009
Planetizen includes Who’s Your City in their annual list of top ten planning books.
Planetizen, November 24, 2008
Named BNET Best Business Book of the Year
BNET, November 17, 2008
International Best Seller List
CEO Read, May 5th, 2008
Best Seller List
The Globe and Mail, April 12th, 2008
Best Seller List
Denver Post April 1st, 2008
‘Best Book of the Month’
Amazon March, 2008
Best Seller List
Montreal Gazette March 30, 2008
International Best Seller List
MacLeans Business Magazine March, 2008
Number 1 Best Seller (nonfiction)
Amazon (Canada), March 2008
Best Seller List
El Paso Times, March, 2008
“Passionate and thoughtful, this book is an indispensable guide to the way our cities really work. The spirit of Jane Jacobs lives on.”
The Financial Times
“Richard Florida is a phenomenon. An intellectual entrepreneur … there is no academic quite like him…”
The Globe and Mail
“Working with a number of collaborators, Florida musters an impressive array of evidence, tracking the experiences of a variety of demographics (twentys omethings, stroller couples, empty nesters) to tabulate which areas of the country benefit members of these groups. He concludes by offering a ten-step process. To his credit, Florida acknowledges the deleterious effects on cities of the living patterns he tracks, including gentrification and the disruption of older urban communities.”
Mike Newirth, Time Out Chicago / Issue 160 March 20–26, 2008
“These are intriguing trends and Florida is an authoritative and entertaining observer. He pulls together many of the things we see around us in high street and housing markets into an illuminating narrative of demography and urban and economic development.”
By John Gapper, The Financial Times March 19th 2008
“…the most entertaining chapter addresses America’s distribution of what psychologists call the ‘big five personality traits’”
Chronicles of Higher Education, March 20th 2008
“…this thought-provoking and seminal work will surely be studied, not only by scholars but more importantly by consumers pondering a move. Following Florida’s advice should aid them in that quest. Highly recommended for all libraries”.
Richard Drezen, Washington Post/NYC Bureau
“The world is not flat, and Richard Florida is the man to tell you why where you choose to live is more important than ever. Passionate and thoughtful, this book is an indispensable guide to the way our cities really work. The spirit of Jane Jacobs lives on.”
Tim Harford, Financial Times columnist and author of The Logic of Life.
“This book says all that I could never put into words about why certain cities sing to certain people. If I could talk like Florida writes, I wouldn’t have needed a campaign staff.”
John Hickenlooper, Mayor of the City of Denver
“Who’s Your City is another breakthrough idea by urban life genius Richard Florida. The power of place has everything to do with our success well beyond our own recognition. If you are contemplating a move or know someone who is, or are even vaguely interested in the idea of place as self, this book is a must read.”
Mario Batali, Chef and Restaurateur
“The world is not flat. Three-dimensional ‘place’ matters more than ever, not less than before. Richard Florida gets it exactly right—again—in Who’s Your City?. As a long time advocate of Florida’s position here, I will send it to colleagues by the score!”
Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence
“Richard Florida is a phenomenon. An intellectual entrepreneur…there is no academic quite like him..His first book crystallized a simple idea and introduced it, to general acceptance. …the book is an intriguing exploration of the global geography of the new urban world.”
Joe Berridge –The Globe and Mail, March 15, 2008
“…the author opens up a complex, under examined subject…”
PublishersWeekly, December 17 2007
“One of my all-time favorite working life books is Richard Florida’s 2002 bestseller The Rise of the Creative Class. Florida—he of the no collar workforce and Bohemian-Gay housing index fame (down, Stephen Colbert, down!)—is one of the smartest working life observers in the country. Over and over again, with great intellectual elegance, he sets it all up and then spins it forward. So it is with great glee that I announce the latest in Florida’s working life oeuvre, a new book due out from publisher Basic in March called Who’s Your City? If you think working remotely means where you live—your place—doesn’t matter anymore, Florida correctly shows us—with his trademark data and analysis—why you’re dead wrong. The books is a superb treatise on the location paradox: the idea that as the world becomes more mobile, the more decisive location becomes. At first it seems paradoxical. Since we can work remotely, place should hardly matter, right? The world if flat. Distance is dead. But Florida shows how, in the hyper wireless world, place is exerting an even more powerful influence on happiness than ever before due to the power of agglomeration, the force of clustering and the growth of smart spots. Choosing one’s scene is becoming as important as choosing one’s spouse and career, Florida argues.We learn why San Francisco is the best city for young singles; why Washington D.C. is the best place to raise kids; and why New York City is one of the top spots for retirees. Something to look forward to!”
Business Week, January 2, 2008
Richard Florida Does It Again Michelle Conlin
Richard Florida Does It Again Michelle Conlin
From the bestselling author of “The Rise of the Creative Class” comes a brilliant new book on the surprising importance of place. “Who’s Your City?” offers the first available city rankings by life-stage, rating the best places for singles, families, and empty-nesters to reside.author:
CEO Read, March 2008
“Who’s Your City? is well-documented with statistics, maps and charts for the scholarly. But Florida’s down-to-earth writing and 10-step plan for choosing the place that fits best will help make deciding where to settle a most enjoyable endeavor.”
Review by Linda Stankard, Bookpage, March 2008
“…it wasn’t till I read “Who’s Your City,” the new book by Richard Florida, that I grasped the global implications of what’s going on in the…real estate market.”
Carol Lloyd, San Francisco Chronicle, March 7 2008
”…he does present an impressive amount of research in arguing that place is key to personal happiness and that people have the ability to choose the place that’s right for them.”
Peter Hadekel is a business columnist for The Gazette. March 15th 2008
“…Florida’s real contribution here is in providing something of a manual for successful urbanism.”
Reviewed by Michael Dudley, Winnipeg Free Press. March 16th 2008
“Florida’s thesis makes a lot of sense…his easy-to-grasp concepts will increase your understanding of where you live, why it matters and what you can do to make your community better.”
By Ernest Hooper, St. Petersburg Times, April 1, 2008
“Florida’s work is based on extensive research, including a fascinating new study … ”
Jon Talton, Seattle Times, April 13th, 2008
“…the writer is the thought-provoking intellectual Richard Florida — who claims in his new book, “Who’s Your City?,” that the selection of where to live ranks as life’s most important decision…”
Patrick S. Duffy, Los Angeles Times, April 13th, 2008
“essential reading for the real estate industry in understanding how people are making decisions about where to live and why… Who’s Your City? is chocked full of meaty information – all backed by tables, graphs, survey results, and opinion polls. ”
Michael Bergin, Active Rain – world’s largest real estate network
“A timely and entertaining portrait of urban and economic and demographic trends.”
Winnipeg Free Press
“Though Florida writes with almost boundless optimism about the advantages of clustering, he also touches on the darker side of his theory of globalization, which may be the most important thing to draw from
The Associated Press
“Florida goes a step further than [Jane] Jacobs, elevating the realm of culture to an issue of central importance….Employing classic Field of Dreams logic, Florida believes that if you invest in culture, the creatives will come.”
The Tyee
“There is a book out that I highly recommend reading. It’s called Who’s Your City?…”
Colin Cowherd, ESPN Radio
7 Must-Read Books About Cities
Brain Pickings Weekly, August 2011
Now that Florida has stimulated further debate about the correlation between location and happiness, OA publisher Warwick Sabin asked him to apply his theories to the American South, where a sense of place has always mattered most.
adminAugust 9, 2009
Whether you’re a city lover, have a keen interest in our economy, or an arm-chair social scientist seeking to understand global trends then this book will give you much to ponder.
adminJune 29, 2009
Columnist Rheba Estante’s personal perspective on how your city of residence brings joy or sorrow.
adminJune 15, 2009
Tim Harford finds out why deciding where you live could be the most important decision of your life.
adminApril 17, 2009
PLACE matters. It affects your career chances, your choice of life partner, and, according to transplanted American economist Richard Florida, your chances for personal happiness and fulfillment.
adminMarch 30, 2009
Spectrum investigates Ireland’s response to its changing ethnic and cultural makeup. Through debate, comment and analysis of the international context, Spectrum explores how Ireland is coping with its new multiculturalism. The programme is presented by Zbyszek Zalinski.
adminFebruary 16, 2009
Richard Florida presents a potent argument for why a few cities are emerging as extremely successful economic powerhouses, while most are in decline. Florida argues that we are now able to choose a place to live from cities around the country and all one needs to do is match a city’s personality and social possibilities with our individual needs and preferences also arguing that these needs can change with
different stages — early career, raising a family and retirement — of life.
adminJanuary 21, 2009
In Who’s Your City, I make an argument about the importance of “place” in the global economy and how it is creating a spiky world…
adminDecember 1, 2008
Richard Florida’s “Who’s Your City?” is a cool book that takes a look at the impact of where you live on your professional and social opportunities. Florida conducted research to understand what places attract entrepreneurial minds, how they do it, and its affect on the regions these places inhabit. He also takes a look at what cities represent the best opportunities to find a mate, start a family, be an empty nester, and retire.
adminOctober 4, 2011
WSJ asks Richard Florida and five other experts which 10 cities will emerge as the hottest, hippest destinations for highly mobile, educated workers in their 20s when the U.S. economy gets moving again.
adminSeptember 30, 2009
Richard Florida speaks at the University of Texas at Arlington sharing insights that the Dallas-Forth Worth area is doing okay but has room for improvement.
adminSeptember 28, 2009
In his latest book, “Who’s Your City?.” Florida expands on the work that he’s done in previous books to speak to two audiences. First, the book gives cities a sense of what they need to do to attract and keep the best and the brightest. Second, the book gives guidance to individuals trying to make the very important choice of where they want to live. How does Jackson rank?
adminSeptember 16, 2009
The Sacramento Bee catches the numbers mapped out by University of Toronto professor Richard Florida in his book “Who’s Your City?”, comparing the ratio of single men to women ages 20 to 64 in urban areas across the United States.
adminSeptember 8, 2009
Richard Florida argues rather forcefully that “personality plays a significant role in understanding cities, regions … and economic growth.”All this begs the question that Florida asks, “Who’s your city?” What is the “personality” of our city? Or, what is the “Spirit” of Toledo?
adminAugust 28, 2009
Richard Florida tackles the enduring appeal of the city in his book Who’s Your City? and despite our ability to live remotely, we still crave the buzz of cities.
adminAugust 23, 2009
The flattening of the world increasingly makes it possible for anyone to do business from anywhere, as author Thomas Friedman has pointed out. However, that doesn’t mean place is irrelevant to business. In fact, it matters more than ever, according to author Richard Florida. At the intersection of Opportunity and Culture, the concepts of Friedman and Florida collide.
adminJuly 29, 2009
Want to be more successful and happy? Richard Florida says take a hard look at where you live , and if it’s not the right fit, move to a place that is.
adminJuly 22, 2009
The proposed ‘new media’ Ignition Festival being planned for Noosa early next year, could spawn the first creative company to come out of the Noosa Creative Alliance project being mentored by well-known international academic Richard Florida.
adminSeptember 10, 2008
A Sustainable Streets program will be launched in Peregian June 28 with the Green Sunshine project rallying participants for the Living Smart Homes Program.
adminJune 25, 2008
The Richard Florida inspired Noosa Creative Alliance Catalyst program is making headway with plans to promote creative industries across the Sunshine Coast.
adminJune 24, 2008
“We are the creative hub of Tallahassee where visual artists, performance artists, small businesses and entrepreneurs can find a place to showcase their work in an 18-hour downtown environment,” Costigan said of Gaines Street.
adminJune 2, 2008
The Creative Region Initiative was launched with the help of Richard Florida who urges communities to develop a creative class of artists and engineers, musicians and high-tech workers — people who think and create for a living — in order to thrive economically.
adminApril 28, 2008
A Youth festival, green sunshine projects, increased success for young businesses, a more vibrant artistic community and communication channels to promote each of them will be put into place in Noosa over the course of the next year.
adminApril 23, 2008
Stage III of Noosa’s Creative Communities project was held at Noosaville, with 30 of the region’s best and brightest taking part in a two-day Creative Communities Leadership Program workshop designed to identify some key initiatives to generate greater economic prosperity.
adminApril 23, 2008
If Dayton wanted to impress somebody, it could do worse than Richard Florida.
Recently, he gave an interview in which he said:
“I was just in Cincinnati and in Dayton, another city I love. They’re historical centers of innovation … from steel innovation to aluminum innovation, to electronics, to the Wright brothers, to the car. This is one of the greatest innovative and entrepreneurial centers in the world.
“They have probably one of the greatest clusters of universities in the history of the planet. They’re producing phenomenal talent, but, unfortunately, that talent leaves. …
adminApril 9, 2008
Memphis, TN had a new kind of blues. Despite its rich history and amenities, and strong economic engines such as the FedEx headquarters, the city was losing annual job earnings, mainly because it could not hold on to young, bright talent. The 2000 census showed that Memphis’ population grew by 6,000 since 1995, but its net income had dropped by $90 million.
adminMarch 23, 2008
Richard Florida believes creative people come in all colours and that they are the key to the new economy. If he didn’t already have a catchy name, Richard Florida could easily be dubbed Mr. T. His celebrated theory of economic prosperity is based on Four T’s. And it was his T for Tolerance that landed the personable American professor in Capital T Trouble when he flew into Noosa last November and media coverage played the gay card.
adminMarch 11, 2008
Buy from:
United States
Your favorite bookstore or online retailer
Canada
Your favorite bookstore or online retailer