Green acres:
the creative rural economy takes root
More and more members of the “creative class” defined by Richard Florida are seeing the advantages (and possibility) of a rural lifestyle. The influence of Florida, the author of the Rise of the Creative Classes, and currently Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto, is spreading to rural areas. Communities looking for sustainable development are applying Florida’s concepts to attract new investment, one or two jobs at a time.
“As soon as I became familiar with Florida’s principles, it struck me: why can’t we make this concept work for eastern Ontario?” said Dan Taylor, Economic Development Officer for Prince Edward County and the OEEDC’s lead on the creative rural economy. “Eastern Ontario already has an impressive pool of creative industry businesses, and with our strategic location at the centre of Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal, there is great potential for growth.”
Taylor emphasized that quality of place and lifestyle are the necessary attributes to attract members of this growing sector. The goal is not to attract mass industry, but to lure the artists, artisans, consultants and other knowledge workers who are now able to work anywhere they please via tele-commuting.
“Our marketing and PR efforts shift to quality of life,” he said. “To attract a factory, we talk about the tax base, infrastructure, the labour force. For the creative class, we talk about the unique qualities of life in each community. We’ve been successful here in Prince Edward County, and I think the concept can work well in many locations in eastern Ontario.”
Taylor points to
The Edward, an upscale new mixed use development in Picton, as one example of a “creative hub” that attracts creative and knowledge workers. Since their salaries and earnings are markedly higher than those in the rural manufacturing and service industries, the local economic spin-offs are substantial.
“We are a live model of the concept,” Taylor said. “We are a creative economy. We just don’t know it yet.”
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Green acres:
More and more members of the “creative class” defined by Richard Florida are seeing the advantages (and possibility) of a rural lifestyle. The influence of Florida, the author of the Rise of the Creative Classes, and currently Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto, is spreading to rural areas. Communities looking for sustainable development are applying Florida’s concepts to attract new investment, one or two jobs at a time.
Taylor emphasized that quality of place and lifestyle are the necessary attributes to attract members of this growing sector. The goal is not to attract mass industry, but to lure the artists, artisans, consultants and other knowledge workers who are now able to work anywhere they please via tele-commuting.
the creative rural economy takes root
“As soon as I became familiar with Florida’s principles, it struck me: why can’t we make this concept work for eastern Ontario?” said Dan Taylor, Economic Development Officer for Prince Edward County and the OEEDC’s lead on the creative rural economy. “Eastern Ontario already has an impressive pool of creative industry businesses, and with our strategic location at the centre of Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal, there is great potential for growth.”
“Our marketing and PR efforts shift to quality of life,” he said. “To attract a factory, we talk about the tax base, infrastructure, the labour force. For the creative class, we talk about the unique qualities of life in each community. We’ve been successful here in Prince Edward County, and I think the concept can work well in many locations in eastern Ontario.”
Taylor points to The Edward, an upscale new mixed use development in Picton, as one example of a “creative hub” that attracts creative and knowledge workers. Since their salaries and earnings are markedly higher than those in the rural manufacturing and service industries, the local economic spin-offs are substantial.
“We are a live model of the concept,” Taylor said. “We are a creative economy. We just don’t know it yet.”