Richard Florida on Grand Rapids

Richard Florida
Originally uploaded by aikens_scott

Richard Florida, the Hirst Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University, and author of The Rise of the Creative Class, recently spoke with Rapid Growth Media about his most recent book, Who’s Your City. In this excerpt he discusses Grand Rapids, MI, in particular:

“What's your view of Grand Rapids, MI?

I love Grand Rapids. I've been there a bunch of times. Some of my earliest work on creativity was done with Steelcase. Clearly the legacy of innovation, and if you think about the creative economy, the work systems that actually make you productive, it seems to me that there's no better place than Herman Miller and [the local office furniture industry]. And it's not just making furniture. It was started by hardwoods there and they made this great furniture for the industrial age. But it's been on the cutting edge of root-based work, making creative work teams more effective.

Plus that lake! We spent a lot of summer time in Northern Michigan, is there any more beautiful place in the world? So I think Grand Rapids is suffering less from the problems in Michigan than the rest of it, but as the state begins to turn around over the course of the next four or five years, I think Grand Rapids is a place with a very bright future, because of its mix of the area, lakefront amenities which can be very exciting for empty nesters' second homes but it has this incredible core of research and innovation in its work.”

To see the full interview at Rapid Growth Media, click here.