This week urban theorist Richard Florida released his latest publication – “The Great Reset”. In this new book, Florida examines the recession as “the mother of invention” and as he points out in the video CURL helped produce – “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste”.
He reflects back at other periods of economic crisis such as the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Long Depression of the late nineteenth century and suggests that these periods of ‘reset’ are great opportunities to remake our economy and help cities thrive.
“Florida identifies the patterns that will drive the next Great Reset and transform virtually every aspect of our lives — from how and where we live, to how we work, to how we invest in individuals and infrastructure, to how we shape our cities and regions. Florida shows how these forces, when combined, will spur a fresh era of growth and prosperity, define a new geography of progress, and create surprising opportunities for all of us. Among these forces will be
* new patterns of consumption, and new attitudes toward ownership that are less centered on houses and cars
* the transformation of millions of service jobs into middle class careers that engage workers as a source of innovation
* new forms of infrastructure that speed the movement of people, goods, and ideas
* a radically altered and much denser economic landscape organized around “megaregions” that will drive the development of new industries, new jobs, and a whole new way of life”