The Creative Class and Upstate NY

I was introduced to Florida’s writings while in grad school. Both the MR and I had read his works and would discuss his ideas feverishly when we were dating.

In my own life I have more than just anecdotal evidence of the power of the creative class. I have lived in communities that were prospering under redevelopment efforts that accentuated walkable, accessible town centers with a healthy mix of business, residential, food and entertainment options. Places like Ann Arbor, Northampton and even Keene come to mind. The redevelopment was the genesis of the existing population that in turn attracted new arrivals. I would run into a number of people in their 30’s that were former college or graduate students of the area and gravitated back to the nests that nurtured them. Not surprising really, if an area offered good schools, good housing, culture/arts, and promoted an entrepreneurial spirit, why not move there?

I’ve also spent an equal amount of time living in places that were struggling and stumbling to acquire and mix the ingredients of the same redevelopment recipe. These were not places that seemed to draw back or retain graduates from local colleges. I don’t have any data to back this up, but I’ve never met anyone in Flint who came back to town years after college because he or she got all inspired just thinking about Autoworld.

I look at my own firm and find that despite all of the standard geographic advantages ranging from good schools to relatively accessible outdoor activities (ADK or Catskills), I'm told we've had trouble finding highly skilled workers that WANT to live in the capital district. With NYC and Boston within three hours each, if high-quality city life is desired, then the CapDist doesn’t measure up in comparison. If outdoor living or bustling small town life is key, then the suburbanization/strip mall landscape of the CapDist is likely to be a turn-off when places like Burlington, Ashville, or Portsmouth offer the ideal “best in small town living.”

To me the region is perfectly located with the Catskills, Green Mountains, and ADK all visibly within reach. Although the night life is lacking, the potential is there. Albany and Troy have an amazing inventory of buildings for unique restaurants and clubs to prosper. There are a few universities RPI, St. Rose, SUNY Albany, and Union to supply a ready and able work force. Yet, these variables don’t seem to be enough.

On the downside, the physical environment has been suburbanized and cut up by freeways. The colleges tend to be isolated and campus life is not an integral part of the community in any one of the nearby cities. In some ways it’s similar to metro Detroit where you have to drive from one amenity to the other. Even the mighty Hudson is cut off from downtown Albany by the interstate highway. People love living near water, but not when obscured by a freeway! My opinion is that many residents of Albany aren't even aware of its presence in the landscape anymore. The waterfront isn't the cultural focus, it was supplanted by the modernist Empire State Plaza. I've attended several events at the Plaza's performing arts venue, the Egg (which was built to look like an egg) where even the performers criticize the inhuman nature of the Plaza and mock the structure itself. If you can't get love from a traveling musician, then well... you're probably unloveable.

A bright spot in the region is Saratoga Springs. Although the city's original charms are being worn down some by towering new condos, the scheduled nanotech firm developments in nearby Malta will make Saratoga the first choice for newcomers. It has the vibrant town center and night life. I've seen more restaurants come and go there in two years than I've seen change hands in my Philly neighborhood!

The biggest obstacle in mind mind to attracting young professionals to stay or relocate to the region is the lack of town centers in the suburban towns that would provide venues for them togather and mix. The one thing a 20-something will tell you that if there is no place to meet other singles, no centers of gravity for games, sports, nightlife, cafes, etc., then life in that community is considered to be lonely and undesriable. It must be a community in the true sense of the word and not just a collection of buildings.