Is it any surprise that the Web Summit decided to head to Lisbon? I am in the amazing Portuguese capital today speaking at a conference. It seems that the entire city has decided that hosting conferences is sufficiently important for the modern brand of the city, that everything is designed to make the attendees feel special.
While I am talking at a small economics conference, the Web Summit doubling its size to nearly 50,000 attendees, tells us that tech conferences and tech is where it is at.
According to the latest European Digital City Index, in terms of tech, Lisbon is quite a way behind Dublin, but it is catching up. Dublin ranks eighth out of 35 European cities when it comes to being a place to do business in the tech sector, whereas Lisbon is 17th. Lisbon is only moving one way, however. That’s upwards.
Unfortunately, according to the index, Dublin’s infrastructure is dragging us down. Have a look at digitalcityindex.eu for the details.
While we rank very highly in terms of entrepreneurial culture, our provision of broadband, our telecoms infrastructure and our psychical infrastructure, such as housing and traffic, let us down badly.
The reason all of this counts from a business perspective is that all cities are now in competition with each other for talent, capital and innovation. And the most creative cities, the ones that offer the best combination of lifestyle and commerce, will win.
In our age of globalisation, the creative economy is the most elevated state of grace a region or city can attain and the more the region scores on what the Americans call a “creative index” the more likely it is to be wealthy.
We are now in the third great era of economic growth, where rewards go to those regions with the highest percentage of creative people who use their brains rather than brawn to make a living.
For centuries, we all lived in the agricultural era when land, land ownership and the produce of the land determined wealth.
Increase in human wealth came via breakthroughs in land productivity and innovations in cultivation.
So finding new crops, new ways of growing them and new machines to increase the yield per acre determined the wealth of the region.
The second great economic era was the industrial age when hard economics came into its own. Hard labour was fused with industrial capital to create the industries of the last century, such as railroads, cars, consumer goods and steelworks. Initially, the new industrial world was located where energy and labour was cheap, easy to extract and plentiful.
So the industrial development of the world was dictated by geography and, more accurately, geology.
In the past 20 years, this industrial world has migrated to a place where labour is cheap. So, for example, the great shipbuilding ports of the world are now in Korea rather than in Europe. We are also seeing the rapid hollowing out of manufacturing in the West as it ups and leaves for China.
Today, the real action for rich countries like Ireland is in the creative industries and the long-term way to protect our standard of living is to foster a creative class.
A few years ago, the American academic Richard Florida identified those people who work with the creative side of the brain.
He believes, and with some compelling evidence, concludes that the US cities with a high proportion of these types – musicians, artists, writers, software engineers, architects, designers, entrepreneurs and the like – are the cities with the strongest growth rates, the highest standards of living and the most satisfied citizens.
He suggests that creative people cluster around each other, in tolerant, open cities. So over the coming years, a crucial factor in attracting them is to create the right urban environment for this tribe.
In making up their minds about where to live, work and make their talents available, they consider the cultural attractions, the nightlife, the atmosphere of the restaurants, bars and cafés, the number of pleasant parks and open spaces.
They will also consider the high-arts, the theatres and whether the national concert hall is up to scratch.
And what about the city’s architecture? What about transport – is it efficient and clean?
We are talking about designer cities here – but designer cities with culture, heritage and a sense of difference.
The great advantage that Ireland has as a region, and Dublin has as a city, over many other places, is that we have a brand.
Whether it is justified or not, Ireland has a brand and it is probably our strongest selling point. It has been carefully cultivated and should be guarded at all costs.
It means many different things to many different people, but compared to other countries with bigger populations – like Belgium, for example – Ireland has a much stronger international brand. Therefore, the IDA should continue to build on this to try to attract in both the creative industries and the creative people.
The arts is a particular case in point. Our state must invest not just in physical or human capital but cultural capital, too. This can be literature, dance, theatre – anything that elevates the cultural edge of the place. This week’s Dublin Theatre Festival is a good example.
But it doesn’t have to be the performing arts; investment in great architecture can be extremely important too.
A great example of this type of cultural dividend is the Guggenheim in Bilbao. The Basque capital has long been associated with the industrial heartland that is the Basque country.
However, in 1997, the city commissioned Frank Gehry, the renowned American architect, to build a new museum based on the Guggenheim in New York.
The ambition was immense, but the statement bigger still. It was signalling to all that Bilbao took its culture seriously. The reaction has been swift: tourist numbers have gone through the roof and Bilbao is now seen as a potential home for Spain’s creative class.
Walking around Lisbon, this capital not just of Portugal but hub of the Portuguese speaking world – the fifth most spoken language in the world – it is not difficult to see that the Portuguese are taking the creative class seriously. There are galleries, museums, beautiful buildings, the nightlife is extraordinary, transport is excellent and rent is cheap.
Once, when Portugal ruled the waves, this was the centre of the world. It may not ever get there again, but it will certainly give other cities a run for their money.
Dublin is in competition with places like this. The Web Summit’s move here is clear evidence of this fact. We’d better take notice, up our game and embrace the creative class.
I thought we had a rise in the creative class. o.k. so we concentrated all our efforts in the Accountancy area…
If you have any good tips for bars, places to eat, etc, David, please pass them on I am visiting there and I can handle the lingo. Nothing too expensive mind!
Dublin is not a well-run city. There is no metro. Houses are generally small, badly insulated, and expensive. In fact, Dublin and Ireland are relatively expensive to live in. Very little of this is due to external factors. Cost of living remains important. According to one site, https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/index/europe, Dublin has a cost of living of 217; Madrid 149; Lisbon 134. OK, Spain and Portugal are not English-speaking. Tallinn speaks English, and the cost of living is 110. Even Helsinki is at 188. As for Bilbao, before the Guggenheim it already had a good art collection at the Museo de Bellas… Read more »
If Ireland tried a Guggenheim there would be massive opposition, with much talk of wasteful resources etc. Which might well be genuine, as it probably would be wasteful and run over bidget. Then we wouldnt like it. The Spire barely got built and isnt liked in general ( although I like it). As for the creative classes, I develop apps because I was an old school objective C developer back in the day on the Mac. Although prior to getting a perm job I could make a living at it as a contractor, I couldnt make a living of it… Read more »
David, you are correct. But you are running square into an institutional state complex that has decided that the future of Ireland will decided by mortgaging the future to two (scandal-prine, dodgy) “pillar” banks. Plus loads of other oligopolies. Does Silicon Valley or Seattle, operate on the basis such nonsense ? The kick back in the US, against Wells Fargo, and it’s recent scandals indicates not. What Wells Fargo did was disgraceful. But it would fit in a quiet chapter in the history of D4 banking over the past two decades. Suddenly, the man that can do no wrong, Warren… Read more »
David, your information on the “Guggenheim´´ effect as it is called is a good few years out of date and lacks a lot of context, too. Bilbao invited many famous architects to be-jewel the city around that time; I.M. Pei ( The Louvre Pyramid, Washington DC National Gallery ), Norman Foster ( The Gherkin, Stansted & Beijing Airports, The New Wembley,etc ), Renzo Piano ( The Pompdieu Center, The Shard, Potsdammer Platz ), and Calatrava ( the white bridge architect/engineer with those two new ones in Dublin, Oriente Station in Lisbon, City of Sciences in Valencia, Orly Airport Terminal, etc… Read more »
Dublin is a grubby imitation of London. Poorly run in every way… transport, housing, public facilities. If it weren’t a tax haven it would be on par with Detroit
There is also the matter of quality in respect of artistic output. 100 years ago, Ireland was one of the best locations in the English speaking world in terms of literary output. Since the introduction of Pravda-RTE, artistic output has pummelled. It dropped even further since changes to the curriculum under Cruiser. One Nobel Prize, and that was for somebody educated in the North, outside of the gombeen administration tendency. Also just wondering – where are the results of Ireland’s low tax rates for “artists” ? That is before we ask questions about the money spent of public sculpture, or… Read more »
“The Grim Reaper of Debt” is ALLEGED to be always lurking in the background. So, to speak of “alleged ?” Debt should never be off-topic. . . And, who better to kick the auld can of the subject of Debt back to us than “Mr. Doom” Economist himself ; Nouriel Roubini . . I am a touch suspicious of high profile economist Nouriel Roubini. . Roubini coined for economics use of the phrase ; “kicking the can down the road”. Deco is much given to reprising this phrase as Roubini meant Re ; “sovereign debt” situation in most western countries… Read more »
The fancy buildings of Europe & Russian Federation will reduced to just powder the way things are being directed by The Dreadful Few against these 2 territories that lie on either side of the Caucuses.
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http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/09/us-to-deploy-new-nukes-in-europe-moscow.html
Why would we spend scarce resources on “The Arts” when we can not treat our sick or house our homeless? Our transport infrastructure is treated as a business not a service, our housing policy is controlled by landlords estate agents and developers and our country is run for the benefit of our mega rich and foreign vultures. We do not seem to mind as we keep voting for more of the same, change a few faces but policy remains the same. Policy has not really changed since the foundation of the state In your new Ireland what do you propose… Read more »
Is an investment a result of achievement, or a pre-requisite to achievement ?
And concerning such investments, which are qualitative in terms of their result, and which amount to merely, a misallocation of hard earned public money ?
A lot of what was spent on arts and sports was wasted, in recent years. Two massive stadia, empty 98% of the time, whilst public transport is delaing with underinvestment.
“Passoa is me, Fernando I will be” Andy Mooney. Lisbon. February 2016. “To pretend is to know oneself.” Cyril Connolly: Pessoa “hived off separate personalities like swarms of bees.” https://www.poetrysociety.org/psa/poetry/crossroads/tributes/fernando_pessoa_his_heteronyms/ Andy Mooney was in Lisbon in February and again in April, also out on the Azores the night Prince died…..but anyway….. He would agree that Lisbon is the new emerging hub. Same time zone, frantically becoming Anglophone but, unbelievable, not realising they gave birth to the real prophet of Internet Existentialsim: Fernando Passoa. Andy tried to explain to people but…..too much! With a rational approach to opiate addiction and a… Read more »
Ok ok okkk I get it.
Techonomics not Robonomics.
All the same you have to David Cameron.
His Euro referendum has probably buried Labour for the foreseeable future.
“For centuries, we all lived in the agricultural era when land, land ownership and the produce of the land determined wealth. Increase in human wealth came via breakthroughs in land productivity and innovations in cultivation. So finding new crops, new ways of growing them and new machines to increase the yield per acre determined the wealth of the region.” So, no matter what happens people have to eat. The modern food innovations have caused malnutrition and a world wide obesity problem. Land and agricultural production are more important than ever as less and less are employed in mass food production.… Read more »
Lisbon is indeed a beautiful and happening city. It was at the centre of the age of discovery and the new world. It is surprising that it declined to its present state as an EU periphery country. There is no doubt that Lisbon and Portugal have huge potential, many portuguese professionals travelled to brazil and mozambique to work in their booming economies a few years ago. Portugal is still very influential country in its former african colonies with portuguese companies doing alot of trade in these countries. Maybe it is portugal and not UK that would have most to gain… Read more »
David has mentioned this Richard Florida thesis before and I had my doubts. The internet is not short of criticism, for example:
http://noclexington.com/?p=477
This article is quite funny, such as this bit, taking nearly at random:
“This is the creative class who will be in attendance at the Creative Cities Summit. Culturally diverse and gay-friendly, I’m sure. But mostly rich…”
Apparently he was getting $35k a night for pushing this.
Love the sentiment David. Would prefer a bigger canvas to showcase that splash of creativity. A canvas bigger than Dublin. For all of Ireland to share. Really think we need to expand our horizons beyond the Pale and utilise the blank and sometimes invisible canvas we have in other parts of the country, in other wonderful spaces besides Dublin. Vibrant, artful, elegant, buzzing places, in stunning street, land and sea scapes. Waiting for that spark. Of Strategy. Places with real space and empty buildings and no traffic. Places where for three generations the best and brightest have left, only to… Read more »
“That’s what a successful digital strategy would really look like and enables. A canvas of digitised cities and towns and villages across Ireland. A canvas of light.”
Broadband to every home in the nation.
“The real menace of our Republic is the invisible government which like a giant octopus sprawls its slimy legs over our cities states and nation. At the head is a small group of banking houses generally referred to as ‘international bankers.’ This little coterie… run our government for their own selfish ends. It operates under cover of a self- created screen…[and] seizes…our executive officers… legislative bodies… schools… courts… newspapers and every agency created for the public protection.” … John F. Hylan
What ever is the plan it should not include anything to do with Deutsche Bank.
http://investmentresearchdynamics.com/famous-last-words-deutsche-bank-we-dont-need-a-bailout/
“It is, after all, the Federal Reserve’s creation of money out of thin air that enables all of this fraudulent behavior in the first place, so why should the Fed remain untouchable?”
http://www.safehaven.com/article/42609/wells-fargo-or-the-federal-reserve-whos-the-bigger-fraud
Commodity inflation on the move.
Dear Alfie Moone / Andrew G. Mooney
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U say on September 25, 2016 at 11:01 pm
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“…I have fucked a lot of priests but only one of them was a rapist. …”
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What do u mean when u say that ?
David, these ideas were central to urban policy making in Dublin from about 2007 onwards. This built upon previous culture-led policy making, such as in Temple Bar. The international literature has been extremely critical of Florida’s ideas, with critics coming from both the ‘left’ (Jamie Peck) and the ‘right’ (Joel Kotkin). It is worth engaging with this work as the ‘creative class’ hypothosis is now nearly 15 years old and should not just be put across as though new and unproblematic. My own work (along with others) has examined and tested these ideas in the context of Dublin and is… Read more »
[…] The rise of the creative classes (DavidMCWilliams) […]
A big problem currently in Dublin is crime. And that means crime to pay for drugs. The drugs business is massive in Dublin.
The legal profession includes many on cocaine themselves. And the profession does not want the problem tackled. Because the drugs business is the basis of much prosperity in the legal profession. Without all that cocaine, there would be less “legal events” to create “legal services demand”.
Our lawyers are out of control. And it is threatening the prosperity of the entire society.
[…] The rise of the creative classes (DavidMCWilliams) […]
[…] The rise of the creative classes (DavidMCWilliams) […]
The rise of the criminal classes. With the legal profession, having full participation.
To the point that they now control Dublin.
Deutschebank turned kings evidence in an inquiry about manipulation of the currency markets and the Libor rate.last year in exchange for a modest fine, as I recall. It was speculated that it would be isolated by the banking fraternity and hung out to dry. “The FCA said its enforcement activities were focused on those five plus Barclays, signaling it would not fine Deutsche Bank AG.” http://www.reuters.com/article/us-banks-forex-settlement-cftc-idUSKCN0IW0E520141112 DB shares are now down 90-95% from 2008 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/09/26/the-deutsche-bank-crisis-could-take-angela-merkel-down–and-the/ Ireland needs an independent solid, honest, sound banking system. It cannot do it within the EU confines so will have to suck it up, grow… Read more »
The rise of the creative classes isvrequirement/precursor to Robotville
[…] The rise of the creative classes (DavidMCWilliams) […]
[…] The rise of the creative classes (DavidMCWilliams) […]
[…] The rise of the creative classes (DavidMCWilliams) […]
[…] The rise of the creative classes (DavidMCWilliams) […]
[…] The rise of the creative classes (DavidMCWilliams) […]
[…] The rise of the creative classes (DavidMCWilliams) […]
Main-Stream Media [ M.S.M. ] of Irish State are given to being “creative”. As are the M.S.M. of USA [ Fox, CNN, CBC etc ], & France 24 / Euronews [ Clever propaganda for E.U. ], & Al Jazerra, inter alia. . e.g. . REMEMBER THE LIES SLANDERED ABOUT PUTIN SAYING THAT HE CONSIDERED TRUMP TO BE : . ‘brilliant,’ ‘outstanding,’ ‘talented’. . . Ref. https://www.google.co.th/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjKtb3j-LDPAhWJxpAKHQvdAfkQtwIIGjAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DmPc3FN5pbHc&usg=AFQjCNEfjVIo2Os-FCMuyNzNrGuWWkslKw&sig2=VZanNg8ZjHbUE8WY92BaDQ&bvm=bv.134052249,d.Y2I . . QUESTION BY FAREED ZAKARIA AS HOST OF CNN TO PUTIN “Let me ask you, Mr President, about another democracy that is having a very different kind of drama. You made some comments… Read more »
Jonas Alexis must be one of the very best researchers & writers on history & politics around. . . Bio Blurb about Alexis Jones on Veteranstoday.com . Jonas E. Alexis graduated from Avon Park High School, studied mathematics and philosophy as an undergraduate at Palm Beach Atlantic University, and has a master’s degree in education from Grand Canyon University. Some of his main interests include the history of Christianity, U.S. foreign policy, the history of the Israel/Palestine conflict, and the history of ideas. He is the author of the new book ,Christianity & Rabbinic Judaism : A History of Conflict… Read more »
Very talented Irish creative here ;
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_McGoohan
[…] The rise of the creative classes (DavidMCWilliams) […]
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/28/mh17-investigation-prosecutors-to-reveal-where-missile-that-down/
And this was an INTERNATIONAL investigation – unlike the Smolensk crash, where Russia did not let in the international investigators, and which concluded that the plane it a birch, turned 360 degree and fell into 60,000 pieces.
http://www.thenews.pl/1/9/Artykul/270716,Tusk-and-Miller-%E2%80%98handed-over-Smolensk-crash-probe-to-Russians%E2%80%99
http://www.thenews.pl/1/9/Artykul/271106,Smolensk-commission-Black-box-recordings-%E2%80%98manipulated-and-shortened%E2%80%99
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3811497/Families-investigation-MH17-downed-pro-Russia-rebel-held-territory.html
What is creativity. There can be a certain snobbery attached to creativty. The arty types that look down their noses – note chip on shoulder. But then there is real creativty, the kind of creativity that has lifted the human race out of the dark ages (yeah I know I know ) These extremely creative people are generally referred to as “nerds”. (That’s speaking from personal experience btw hahaha)So it’s airheads and nerds – opposite sides of the same coin. The French actually teach their students “lateral thinking”. They called “conception” pronounced the french way (roughly con sep see on)… Read more »
Speaking of creatives leaving Ireland or cutting edge entrepreneurs here is an example for you. On this episode of The Keiser Report in the a part Irish startup in the Fintech area ( Adam – useful application of bitcoin here!!! ) has just ditched Ireland for London despite Brexit being on the horizon. the company is called Aidtech was born in the last 2 years and applies the efficiency of the blockcahin to the aid sector. There are huge savings to be made per annum for the sector from the development that Aidtech offers as the sector is notoriously inefficent… Read more »
Here is a question for a creative mind.
What are you going to do about the the Debt?
Create a new country. A worthwhile project. A template for the future?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberland
Blasket Islands????