Whittaker Associates: Giving Information Meaning">Whittaker

By Pete Julius

What is your definition of a rural area? Some people call all non-metropolitan areas rural regions, while others put areas with populations of less than 5,000 people in the rural category. Numerous definitions are used to classify a region as rural or urban, making it harder for economic developers to select the right classification. 

The law requires some federal and state economic development organizations to use Census Bureau classifications to allocate program funds, set program standards, and implement each program.  For those communities that could be either rural or urban it is very important to understand the classification system.  It is also essential to understand any changes that occur within the system and what they could mean to a community.  Recently, the Census Bureau revised its classification of rural and urban areas. 

The 1990 Census definition labeled rural areas as those community boundaries with less than 2,500 people.  However, the new 2000 definition instituted by the Census Bureau is quite different.  The new definition is now based on population density and not just boundary lines.  This definition will not only include communities with less than 2,500 but it will also include the surrounding areas, which contribute to the community’s overall economy. 

The change will cause some traditional rural areas to become classified as urban.  Since this change in classification was just announced, it is not clear what it means for the future.  The switch in terminology could cause a reform in Federal and state funding.  If you wish to view these changes further, please click on the following link: http://www.census.gov/geo/www/ua/ua_2k.html.

By Katie Terpstra

“Keep your tax incentives and highway interchanges; we will go where the highly skilled people are.”

Carley Fiorina, Hewlett-Packard CEO

Richard Florida, in his book The Rise of the Creative Class, describes the emergence of a new social class, the creative class.  He believes creativity is the driving force behind economic growth and that “cities should stop worrying about attracting companies and start worrying about attracting members of this class.”  Once the creative people have been successfully attracted, the companies seeking this type of workforce will naturally follow.

Mr. Florida defines the core of the creative class as “people in science and engineering, architecture and design, education, arts, music, and entertainment, whose economic function is to create new ideas, new technology and/or new creative content.”  He estimates that the class includes 38 million members or more than 30 percent of the nation’s workforce.

In order to attract the creative class to an area, Florida believes a place must have “the 3 T’s”—technology, talent and tolerance.  While he believes geographical place does still play an important role in attraction, he also writes, “Access to talented and creative people is to modern business what access to coal and iron ore was to steelmaking.” 

Whether you agree with Florida or not, he raises some interesting issues through his research.  Have you witnessed the presence of this creative class in your area?  Do organizations need to be more innovative in their attempts to attract companies?  Is it feasible to attract people rather than companies?  Click here to send us your feedback.

Sources & Links:

º    www.slate.msn.com/?id=2066325: An article based on Florida’s book which asks the question: “Why do some cities thrive and others flounder?”

º    www.creativeclass.org: Florida’s website which contains more information about his book, The Rise of the Creative Class, including excerpts.

º    www.optimizemag.com/issue/007/quiz.htm: An interesting quiz designed to test how creative your workplace is.