Phila.’s next revolution: Forging creative economy. For America to thrive, it needs to capitalize on its right-brain advantage. New York may be losing it’s creative element.

In a world that has suddenly become flat, Americans are discovering that the hallmarks of what once was central to corporate success – price, quality, and much of the digitized, analytical left-brain work associated with knowledge – is fast being shipped off to New Delhi, Singapore or Manila.

It isn’t just about math and science anymore. For America to thrive in the world economy, we will need to consciously strengthen our last remaining competitive advantage: creativity. That is the right-brain output that sets our workforce apart from others worldwide in a field that generates $2.24 trillion in annual revenue and employs 40 million workers.

Luckily, Greater Philadelphia is uniquely positioned to take a leadership role in developing this resource. While we have spent time developing formidable strength in the knowledge-based economy, our region’s creative economy is already bustling – to the tune of $44 million annually. One-third of our regional workforce comprises members of the "creative class." They are scientists, engineers, professors, poets, novelists, artists, entertainers, actors, designers and architects, nonfiction writers, editors, cultural figures, think-tank researchers, and others who earn a living using creativity, imagination and innovation.

With 84 institutions of higher education and nearly 300,000 students, the Philadelphia region also offers a ready pool of creative talent for years to come. In fact, we already graduate more prospective members of the creative class than any other city in the United States. Philadelphia ranks sixth nationally in visual- and performing-arts graduates and seventh nationally in professional-services graduates.

By Miguel Angel Corzo

Full Story: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/opinion/local2/region/13418301.htm

***

New York, Once a Lure, Is Slowly Losing the Creative Set
Kevin P. Casey for The New York Times

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER

They may not have the money of the hedge fund managers who line up at bonus time at the open houses for $5 million homes, and their numbers do not equal that of health care workers. But New York City’s creative sector – which includes architects, potters, filmmakers and clothing designers – has long helped fuel the city’s economy because of its size and its role in drawing the wealthy to town.

But relentless inflation in real estate and health care costs are endangering New York’s long dominance in the creative sector, according to a new report, as artists and companies migrate to less expensive cities eager to lure them.

For example, 20 years ago, New York was the headquarters for half of the world’s advertising agencies, but is now home to fewer than a third, according to the report, written by the Center for an Urban Future, a left-leaning New York research group that analyzes urban policy issues.

While the city still is home to most of the American publishing industry, the number of jobs in that field fell 3 percent in the last decade in New York, while increasing in San Francisco, Boston and Denver. And from 2001 to 2004, the number of jobs in New York City’s motion picture and sound recording industries declined by 36 percent.

"The danger for New York is, if we don’t really start addressing the needs in the creative sector," said Robin Keegan, the lead researcher of the study, "we will not be able to do the origination" of many artistic products that the city has long been known for.

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/18/nyregion/18creative.html