Where does Brownwood Rank ?

Tolerant cities tend to prosper
By Mitchell Schnurman
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

The Metroplex has plenty of technology and talent, but what about tolerance?
The question is worth asking, not only because it addresses the quality of life here but also because it says a lot about our economic prospects.
That's the theory of Richard Florida, a public-policy professor at George Mason University whose ideas have been adopted by cities nationwide. Florida documented a link between his "three T's" and the strength of a regional economy in his 2002 bestseller, The Rise of the Creative Class.
He argues that creative workers are the catalyst behind today's innovations and account for much of the growth in high-quality jobs. These workers include doctors, educators, engineers and artists, and they're attracted to communities -- not specific jobs or companies -- that are dynamic, authentic and open to all kinds of people.
Think Austin, San Francisco and Seattle. In those regions, great nightlife, culture and recreation also translate into higher pay and home values and exceptional job growth.
Dallas-Fort Worth scores pretty well in the rankings: 21st among almost 300 metropolitan areas. But its greatest weakness is in tolerance, where it's No. 63.
Think Farmers Branch will help on that front?
The suburban city north of Dallas recently passed a series of ordinances that target illegal immigrants, including designating English as the official language. The city's crackdown won't make a dent in the immigration problem that's vexing the nation, but it reinforces a terrible Texas stereotype -- that people who don't look like good ol' boys aren't welcome here.
Leaders of other North Texas cities have said they won't follow Farmers Branch, even as some residents urge them to do so. I wish they'd come out stronger, denounce the moves and use the controversy to push for greater tolerance and acceptance.
Immigration is one of the strengths of the Metroplex and most large cities. Without it, Dallas' population would have grown just 1.7 percent in the 1990s, rather than the 18 percent it recorded, according to a recent report by the Brookings Institution.
New York, Chicago, Boston and Minneapolis would have lost population if not for immigration, the report says.
The creative-class idea of economic development goes beyond the issue of foreign-born residents. And its major theme -- that place matters -- is hardly new. Florence, Italy, for example, became a center of culture and creativity centuries ago by attracting artists.
But Florida's research challenged the New Economy notion that future workers would live all over, connected by technology and the Internet.
Certainly, more people can do that, but Florida concluded that creative workers want to live around others like them, clustered in super-regions where they can feed off one another's energy.
Forget about driving the economy by building stadiums and luring companies with big tax breaks. Florida says that cities should invest in their communities -- in bike paths, parks and rehabilitated neighborhoods.
It's those kinds of amenities, along with open attitudes, that attract the creative class. Florida defines that group as a broad cross-section of knowledge workers -- including scientists, architects, entertainers and designers -- that accounts for about 30 percent of the work force.
Become a home of choice for such people, and big companies will flock there. Those creative workers will also spawn a large share of successful startups.
Focusing on making your city a great place is an alternative way to think of economic development, especially in a state where the governor gives away loads of cash to lure corporate relocations. Texas has ranked No. 1 for the past two years in recruiting companies and expanding plants, which have helped keep the job machine running.
But median incomes have declined in the state at sharply higher rates than the nation as a whole.
Some of Florida's critics say he exaggerates the effect of an elite class and downplays the significance of low taxes, small government and limited regulation. Las Vegas, for instance, is a leader in job growth but a laggard on Florida's measure of technology, talent and tolerance.
His indexes are taken from an array of statistics that identify key traits:
The technology component is based on the number of patents and the concentration of technology industries.
Talent is a measure of workers in the creative-class groupings.
Tolerance considers four factors: the degree of racial integration, the number of foreign-born residents, the concentration of artists and entertainers, and the number of gay couples.
It was Florida's gay index that drew the most attention, and many question any connection with a strong economy.
But Florida and his co-researcher never "imply that gays literally cause high-tech growth," Florida wrote in a response to critics in 2004. "Rather, we see a strong and vibrant gay community as an indicator of a place that is open to many different kinds of people."
They compared the economies of the top 11 and bottom 11 regions in his creativity index, and leaders added jobs at twice the rate and four times the number of people.
Workers in the leading creative regions also averaged $5,000 more in pay and much faster wage growth.
"Given these trends," Florida wrote, "which city would you put your money on to be an economic powerhouse 50 years from now: Las Vegas, a region typically held up as a model of recent growth by my critics, which could easily go the way of Atlantic City after the 1920s, or San Francisco, which boasts Stanford, Berkeley and a long legacy of technological and cultural innovation?"
In the 1990s, Las Vegas ranked first in population growth and third in job growth, Florida says. But growth in per-capita income was 294th among 315 U.S. regions.
How does Fort Worth become more attractive to the creative class?
The big push into mass transit is a positive. The Trinity River Vision will create waterfront areas for the public, along with lots of recreation, housing and entertainment. And the downtown campus of Tarrant County College will bring a new diversity to the central business district.
We need to keep moving in these directions -- and inviting people from all over.

Mitchell Schnurman's column appears Sunday and Wednesday. 817-390-7821 schnurman@star-telegram.com

source: http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/16155497.htm