Shhh! It's all true, but no one is supposed to know!

The Sears Tower:

Long believed to be a product of un-hip Sears-Roebuck's success in mail order, the Sears Tower is, in fact, a result of the hippie (ie: hipster!) movement of the late 1960s. The building was topped off a mere 5 years after the '68 Democratic Convention in Chicago, when Creative Class types from all over the country converged on Chicago to create a "scene." It is quite obvious (unless you're an idiot with a banana in one hand) that without this hipster scene, the Sears Tower would have never been built!

See! Creative Class stuff works. See!

But there's more:


The "L" Train:

Though many believe the L was created to transport ridiculously uncool working stiffs around the city for (ahem) work and stuff, it turns out that the L was actually designed to entice hipsters to the city! Immortalized by Jeff Tweedy in "Far, Far Away" (...kiss and ride on the CTA...), the L is now one of Chicago's premier hipster attractions. To think that it is there just to move people back and forth is to be ignorant of history and economics. "Build the L, and the hipsters will come!" Chicago's visionary forefathers said. And the rest is history.

(ps - The genius behind creating the L could be transferred here to Champaign if we just built the Tram. Sure, we don't need it, but why let that little detail get in our way? Look at how hip Chicago is! Obviously, they knew what they were doing. Come on people, get with the program!)

Oh, and let's not forget ...




The Blues

Yes, Chicago is the "Home of the Blues" and that is quite an attraction for the creatives, who want to bask in the authenticity of poor artists singing about hard times, and stuff. Though many boring musicologists have long believed the great, working stiff blues musicians migrated to Chicago to escape economic oppression (sharecropping), it actually turns out that they came north to (you guessed it!) create a "scene" to attract these creatives!

How nice of them, don't you think? And what a genius marketing technique for a City. If only we could force something like that to happen here. Hmmm.

Any ideas? 9 comments

If you haven't seen this yet, you should. Gutsy move by a good artist.

Try this link for more info on how to help:

http://www.itdg.org/

Off to the city. God bless.
1 comments

Lots of criticism on this post, with the most specific being:

1. Espresso is not locally owned.
2. We don't need any new industry, we have the University (that rhymes!).
3. Where are your sources, you nitwit!

Well, I addressed the first two in this response, but here are some basic sources for creative class criticism (an illiteration!):

City Journal - Winter 2004:

...A generation of leftish policy-makers and urban planners is rushing to implement Florida’s vision, while an admiring host of uncritical journalists touts it...

Sound familiar?

...But there is just one problem: the basic economics behind his ideas don’t work. Far from being economic powerhouses, a number of the cities the professor identifies as creative-age winners have chronically underperformed the American economy. And, although Florida is fond of saying that, today, “place matters” in attracting workers and business, some of his top creative cities don’t even do a particularly good job at attracting—or keeping—residents...

A great read, that one. Here's another:

Metropolis Magazine - Feb. 22, 2005:

[...] Maybe Florida bugs me because I lived for a time in 3 T's central, San Francisco, from the pinnacle of the dot-com boom to the bottom of the bust. I lived in a place that was so perfectly attuned to the needs and desires of a particular creative class that hardly anyone else could stand it (or afford it). [...]

Turns out this theory isn't very good for real artists either:

The Stranger (Seattle) - Sept. 3-10, 2003:

Presumably he (Florida) would argue that economic prosperity bolsters the arts. But we saw in Seattle's boom years that this wasn't true, at least not on the street level Florida so admires. Lots of new building was initiated--the symphony, the new opera house--but very little of this money trickled down to artists, largely because the dot-commers who came to Seattle to make their fortunes weren't buying art. "Investment in the arts" tends to mean investment in institutions, not in the things artists really need to survive: affordable studios, for example, and health insurance.

Bust times, when rents become cheap and commercial spaces come available, are in a way much better for artists, but because Florida has conveniently conflated art and lifestyle, he doesn't have to address this paradox.

And even some in good ole' Cinncinati are having problems with this theory:

Cincinnati City Beat - Dec. 31, 2003:

[...] However, what some call "repopulation," others call "gentrification." While the Urbanists meet to passionately discuss ways to celebrate and revitalize Cincinnati's urban core, some activists worry that rising prices will displace Over-the-Rhine's lower-income, mostly African-American residents.

The term "creative class" often seems to have classist, if not racist, undertones...

I doubt these articles will make much of a difference (there is money to be made here), but I thought a brief analysis of some of the criticism of the creative class would be in order. From basic economics, to racial and class issues, to the exploitation of artists and hipsters, the notions behind creative class development are dubious, at best.

Will we see any of this criticism in the Hub anytime soon? It would indeed be high journalism to print rebuttals of the economic theories behind one of your investor's big projects.

I wonder if the Hub is up to it? 3 comments

The Times has a nice piece (subscription required) this morning on the NCAA's exemption of Florida State from the ban on "hostile and abusive" mascots and nicknames during postseason play. The U of I is still, obviously, on the list though the NCAA has agreed to hear appeals on a case-by-case basis.

It appears that the reason for FSU's exemption is its close relationship with the original Seminoles. In fact, it appears that many of the Seminole Tribe actually went to bat for FSU's mascot, and even their "rival" tribe the Miccosukee refused to endorse the ban.

Relevance to the Illini situation? None. With no organized Illini tribe there can never be an endorsement of Chief Illiniwek. Moreover, the Chief does not actually physically represent the Illiniwek. According to the Chief Illiniwek Dialogue Report, A. Webber Borchers, who put together the Chief's first costume...

... wanted the colorful regalia of the Sioux for several reasons, not the least of which was that the Indians of Illinois shaved the sides of their heads and he couldn't quite picture himself or any future Chief Illiniwek walking around campus for two or three years with only a scalplock on his head. Also, the Illinois Indians were woodland Indians and did not wear the dramatic war bonnets of the plains Indians.

The Chief is, in fact, such a hodgepodge of different Native traditions that it is difficult to actually claim he represents the Illiniwek in any substantial way outside of the name. The headdress is not a historically accurate representation of the Illinois Indians. Neither is the clothing, the moccasins, the face paint, the dance ... etc. etc. etc.

In other words, FSU will get this exemption because it does what the U of I has never done: it (dare I say it?) honors the Seminole Indians. Instead of creating a mascot out of thin air, donning him with orange and blue paint and telling him to do flips to represent Native religious dance, FSU created a mascot that is a representation of the actually tribe of actual people who lived (and still live!) in the actual place where the school stands.

The differences couldn't be more striking, and it shows how corrupt the ideas of "honor" and "respect" for Chief Illiniwek have become. 6 comments

I'm not sure who Don Gerard is but he seems to be making an effort to become one of the worst reporters this town has ever seen. His recent synposis of the development of Green Street, "Developing Campustown with the 'Creative Class' in Mind" (Aug. 18 issue of Hub [website still useless - kind of ironic for a weekly dubbing itself "The Hub"]) is one of the silliest apologies for the corporatization of a city that I have ever read.

Gerard, a "friend" of One Main investor and Hub creator Cody Sokolski ("Mr. Sokoloski" to Gerard), is attempting in this article to ooze love onto the flawed logic of the idea of Creative Class development. His summary of this idea comes gushing out in the third paragraph when we learn ...

...the key to revitalizing cities is appealing to artists and younger people, who do not always work nine-to-five or wear suits and most definitely have no interest in being trapped in an industrial park on the outskirts of town...

Hmmm. Who knew? And here all this time I had thought that industry was the key to economic development. You know, the occasional Solo Cup plant, or the University. Silly me. Let's get Sleater-Kinney in here pronto so we can have some serious economic development happen!

The stroking continues as we learn...

...One Main will soon be viewed as merely the initial keystone in the burgeoning redevelopment of not only downtown Champaign, but Campustown and the area in between...

My goodness! That One Main building (paid for, btw with over $1 million of City of Champaign development money and the loss of the parking downtown) is apparently no building at all. It is ... dare I say it? ... the SAVIOR of our town!

And what will our new salvation look like? Well, if you're a stockholder in a national food-chain (as most artists and young people are, I'm sure) then it's looking pretty good:

...the Green Street stretch of Campustown has improved drastically in recent years (Starbucks, Potbelly Sandwiches, Qdoba, Smoothie King, et al.)...

...With a name sounding much like a cable-access children's show, one can just tell "Nooodles and Company" must be good.[...]

...The biggest "hoo-hah" of late, however, was the recent announcement of the plans to solicit an urban-landscape fixture natural food market such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or Wild Oats.

Should that occur--given the addition of Noodles & Co., Chipotle, Starbucks ... Champaign-Urbana may very well be on it's way to being--Creative Class Index-edly speaking---the next Boise.

The next Boise? No way! That is so cool. Dude.

The problems with the logic behind this propaganda is are so glaring it is hard to know where to start. Getting rid of local businesses to make way for a Starbucks and Potbellys is a good idea? The quality of food can be determined by the name? The biggest "hoo-hah" of late is a discussion of a health food store? Huh?

If I were the owner of Strawberry Fields I might be offended to find out that we need a health food store in this town. If I owned Espresso Royale I might be offended to learn that the Starbucks is going to be filling a large need in campustown. If I was a taxpayer in Champaign I would wonder why in Hell my City Council was giving Cody Sokoloski and his lot the key to the city. To attract "artists and young people"? Is this for real?

What about the rest of us? Richard Florida is the man who is behind these theories of counter-economics. He is a punchline for serious economists, but is Jesus Christ himself to the pseudo-intellectual capitalists behind One Main and whatever else is going to be propped up to attract the Creatives. I have read Rise of the Creative Class and have come away with the distinct impression that Florida is out of his mind. Instead of focusing on economic development (you know, places that create high paying jobs and whatknot), Florida is focusing on the side effects of economic development (gentrification, restaurants, clubs, etc.). Paul Maliszewski put it better than I can in a recent issue of The Baffler:

His (Florida's) advice to cities is, in effect, to build Potemkin bohemias, complete with authentic edginess, leveraged cultural assests, and street-level culture, all prepared for those esteemed dignitaries, the members of the creative class, to arrive. It all sounds rather nice – who wouldn't want cool stuff like a coffeeshop or Ron Wood in their town, especially real estate developers? But as a prescription for a revived economy, this plan is so wrong-headed and backwards that it reads like satire. Artists and indie rockers are not the engines of economic recovery. They can't be, because they flourish–or at least manage to eke out a living–in places that can support artists and indie rockers.

In other words they are trying to fix a broken leg with an ice pack (look! the swelling went down!).

Most disturbing, but perhaps least surprising, is the fixation with the group of people who make up the Creative Class. Missing (as usual) from the center of importance are the blue collar working folks who make the town run. Bus driver? Sorry, not Creative Class. Accountant? Please. Factory worker? You must be kidding, right?

When the revitalization of downtown focuses on what is commonly known as The Beautiful People, then the community as a whole suffers. Families are not creative class, nor are children in any way figured into the equation. This is development for the privileged few who have been able to self-actualize their existence through (most likely) trust funds, expensive colleges, and dictated tastes (thanks Mojo Magazine!). For the rest of us, we drive by and it all looks pretty good.

But we keep on driving. 19 comments

We'll be in Upper Michigan for the next couple of weeks. Lots of swimming, reading, relaxing, eating, swimming, sleeping, etc. Not much blogging, though.

I wish everyone a great last couple of weeks of summer. Labor Day will be here before we know it and then back into the full swing. Enjoy the summer while it lasts.

Here are some good reads if anyone is desperate:

Steve Amick's Editorial "Cold Comfort"

Jim Wallis' Editorial "The Message Thing" (he nails it, as usual).

Take it easy! - mf 3 comments

ABC News just did a powerful piece on the famine currently raging in Niger. Here's the link to WorldVision. Shouldn't we help?

It's also been another bloody day in Iraq. Apparently six marine snipers from Ohio have been killed, driving the U.S. body count over 1800. This is, by far, the bloodiest conflict we have seen in this country since Vietnam. My prayers go out to these soldiers, and their families. I cannot imagine what it must be like.

The bigger world is raging right now. We are very blessed just to have the time to blog, not to mention the love of our families, vacation times, shelter, food, clothing, etc.

I'd count my blessings, but we'd be here all day. 0 comments

Yesterday's Tribune has a feature story about the educational spending gap in Illinois. It seems things have never been worse:

At the two extremes, the tiny Rondout elementary district in Lake County spent $23,799 per pupil in 2003-04, compared with $4,438 spent by Central School District 51, a grade school district in Tazewell County in the middle of the state.

That's an almost $20,000 difference between two school districts in the same state. As I have discussed before, these disparities are caused by the reliance on property taxes for school funding. The higher the property values in a district, the more money the schools will receive, and vise versa.

While we are fortunate in this area to have decent funding for our schools, it is true the rural (usually consolidated) districts, and urban (predominantly minority) districts in Illinois are the ones who suffer. In other words, this isn't a race issue: it is a class issue.

So what to do? I came out in support of Sen. Winkel's proposal to increase income taxes and decrease property taxes with the purpose of leveling the education funding playing field. This proposal was killed in Springfield sometime last spring, with much ado made about the moderate tax increases that the suburban homeowners would incur. Apparently, few legislators have the sack required to take on the suburban power base.

What we need in this state is leadership. It is not acceptable to continue to support a system that is so dramatically unfair. Unfortunately, leadership seems to be in short supply these days.

So gear up for another year of inequality, Illinois style. 2 comments