by Paul Helmke
As mayor of Fort Wayne for 12 years, I spent a lot of time on economic development. One of the things we tried to understand and respond to was how companies make decisions on where to build new facilities; why companies choose to locate here, or expand here or stay here. This helped us shape our economic development programs and approaches.
One of our area's strengths during the 1980s and 1990s was the quality of our workforce. Employers often indicated that workers here give them a good day's work for a good day's pay, have good attendance records, are hard-working and productive. One company even indicated that their research on where to locate their telemarketing center showed that we have the second-highest rating in the country in terms of what they are looking for in their workers.
But the business model from the past - when someone could go straight from their graduation at a local high school to a local manufacturing company and have a job that would give them a good paycheck to support their family until retirement and a good pension after that - is rarer and rarer every year. As times change, the challenge for us is not only to attract and retain the businesses that are likely to do well in the 21st century, but to attract and retain the people that these businesses are looking for as workers.
A recent book, "The Rise of the Creative Class" by Richard Florida, a professor of Regional Economic Development at the Heinz School of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, argues that cities need to focus on the workers which he identifies as the "creative class" - not just artists and musicians (although they are part of this group), but on workers who create new ideas, new technology and/or new creative content. These are workers who "have considerably more autonomy and flexibility" than those who "are primarily paid to execute according to plan."
Florida concludes that "places that succeed in attracting and retaining creative class people prosper; those that fail don't."
Using some rough job classification numbers, Florida estimates that the share of the U.S. workforce in "creative class" jobs has increased from 10 percent in 1900 to 20 percent in 1980, and approximately 30 percent today. Communities with over 35 percent of their workforce in "creative class" jobs - like Austin, Boston, Raleigh-Durham, East Lansing and Madison - are doing well in the new economy, according to Florida. Areas with lower percents are or will be falling behind.
So, how does the Fort Wayne area measure up under Florida's analysis? Of the 268 metropolitan areas in the country, the six-county Fort Wayne area ranks 171st when measuring the percent of workers in the "creative class." (We are 26th out of 32 for metropolitan regions with between a half-million and one million people.) Florida calculates that we have 25.4 percent of our workforce in "creative class" jobs locally.
Florida also develops a "creativity index," which combines his analysis of the employment data with information on how communities rank on high tech, innovation and diversity factors. These factors are important because of what Florida calls the "3 Ts of economic development: Technology, Talent and Tolerance." According to Florida, in order to "attract creative people, generate innovation and stimulate economic growth, a place must have all three."
The idea of low-entry barriers for people, as well as for businesses, is a crucial part of this analysis. Florida argues for "plug and play" communities, where new people can quickly find others to connect with and groups to join. Communities need to be open to differences and need to celebrate the advantages of immigration. Participatory recreation opportunities are needed in addition to spectator venues for workers who do not physically exert themselves on the job. Street-level culture and opportunities for people to mix help newcomers see and meet and learn about others. Authenticity and uniqueness attracts the creative class more than just another repeat of what can be found in most other communities.
So, is Fort Wayne a "creative" community? Yes, we're "a good place to raise a family," but are there opportunities for singles? Are we open to new people, or is this still a place that you're still considered a transplant after 30 years if you didn't go to school here? Are there multiple job possibilities for workers in new business areas?
These questions and related issues are being discussed by various individuals in our community. To help stimulate these discussions, the group Invent Tomorrow, along with other community sponsors, is bringing Richard Florida to Fort Wayne on March 18. He will speak at the Walb Student Union Ballroom at IPFW at 7 p.m. After a question and answer session, individuals will be encouraged to meet in small groups to discuss how to make our economy and our community more creative. This event is free and is open to the public.
We have a lot going for us as a community, but we'll fall behind unless we're willing to make positive changes. If we focus on people and begin a dialogue on why we're here and what we need to grow in the future, we can only get stronger in the future.
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Paul Helmke was mayor of Fort Wayne from 1988- 2000. He wrote this for CreativeFortWayne.net. It also appeared in The Fort Wayne News Sentinel.