Richard Florida

Richard Florida is Senior Editor at The Atlantic and Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto. See his most recent writing at The Atlantic Cities. More

Florida is author of The Rise of the Creative Class, Who's Your City?, and The Great Reset. He is founder of the Creative Class Group.

What Is the World's Most Economically Powerful City?

What Is the World's Most Economically Powerful City?

To kick off The Atlantic's new special report on the past and future of the world's global capitals, we ask: What city rules them all? More »

Why America Keeps Getting More Conservative

Why America Keeps Getting More Conservative

Religion and education explain why, at the state level, the United States is seeing a clear shift to the right. More »

The Importance of Social Networks to Start-Up Economies

The Importance of Social Networks to Start-Up Economies

As our metropolitan areas grow larger, the synapses that connect them -- highly networked people -- become more and more essential to economic growth More »

The Spread of Start-Up America and the Rise of the High-Tech South

The Spread of Start-Up America and the Rise of the High-Tech South

Start-up culture is taking root in lots of places -- and not just the usual suspects. Some of the hottest hotbeds are in the South. More »

The Shifting Patterns of Patent Growth

The Shifting Patterns of Patent Growth

Silicon Valley is eight times more productive than the national average. But it wasn't always this way. More »

Where the Innovators Are

Where the Innovators Are

Regional data shows how dense areas of invention tend to be More »

How Startups Have Changed the Way American Business Thinks

How Startups Have Changed the Way American Business Thinks

While other countries may create superior products, America generates startups that forever shift the nation's economic structure More »

Issue October 2011

Where the Skills Are

Human progress, to a large degree, has depended on the continual expansion of social networks, which enable faster sharing and shaping of ideas. And humanity’s greatest social innovation remains the city. As our cities grow larger, the synapses that connect them—people with exceptional social skills—are becoming ever more essential to economic growth.

If U.S. Cities Were Countries, How Would They Rank?

If U.S. Cities Were Countries, How Would They Rank?

San Francisco's metropolitan area contains an economy the size of Thailand. Chicago's would rival Switzerland. More »

Teach Job Creation at Our Business Schools

Teach Job Creation at Our Business Schools

What if creating jobs -- for ourselves and for others -- became the mantra of our MBA, engineering, science and graduate programs? More »

Detroit's Main Street, Then and Now

Detroit's Main Street, Then and Now

A look at the city's major artery before, during, and after the automobile boom More »

The Geography of How We Get to Work

The Geography of How We Get to Work

Where we live makes a huge difference in our commuting choices -- but not always in the ways you'd think More »

How the Great Reset Has Already Changed America

How the Great Reset Has Already Changed America

The recession's aftermath will give birth to mega-cities, as families and businesses come in from the foreclosed suburbs More »

Why Crime Is Down in America's Cities

Why Crime Is Down in America's Cities

Abortion, poverty, unemployment—none of these factors is the main reason our metro areas are getting safer More »

Top Metros for Same-Sex Couples with Children

Top Metros for Same-Sex Couples with Children

Nearly one fifth of gay couples are raising children -- but not in the cities where you'd expect to find them More »

How New York Changes the Gay Marriage Landscape

How New York Changes the Gay Marriage Landscape

Twice as many Americans now live in states that recognize same-sex marriage More »

America's Top Cities for Bike Commuting: Happier, Too

America's Top Cities for Bike Commuting: Happier, Too

A nationwide analysis shows that towns where people bike to work are richer, fitter, and more successful in many other ways More »

The Great Metro Reset

The Great Metro Reset

Cities drive our economy, but they won't be returning to full employment anytime soon More »

Why Real-Estate Prices Spike in Places Like Manhattan

Why Real-Estate Prices Spike in Places Like Manhattan

People pay for two premiums—first, to live by wonderful amenities, and second, to take advantage of the area's greater productivity More »

The Geography of Peace

The Geography of Peace

What are the factors that shape the relative peacefulness of nations? More »

The Biggest Story in Photos

Finland in World War II

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