This critique of Richard Florida’s thesis, in which the author calls bullshit on Florida’s praise of urban professionals got me thinking about the importance in the city (or elsewhere) of the supposedly lowly food service positions.
When I lived in Seattle, I didn’t really give a damn about all those creative computer programmers. The people who were important, other than my co-workers and friends, were the baristas and the bartenders and even though I never met them, the cooks at my favorite restraunts. Those people really shaped my experience of the city. Maybe by making me feel welcome, or putting on good music, or cooking great food.
You’ve probably got a favorite barista or bartender. And there’s probably some sort of a shop you frequent that has a clerk you talk to on a regular basis. The staunch anti-capitalists among us might argue that it’s a symptom of our society that our public lives are so affected by the people who sell us stuff, but I don’t think the fact that commercial transactions are occuring is all that relevant.
I haven’t actually read Florida or Jane Jacobs, so I’m not in a position to really evaluate their ideas. But I suspect the role of those underpaid service workers is probably closer to Jacobsian street life than the role of Florida’s “creative” yuppies.
Comment (1)
“…the role of those underpaid service workers is probably closer to Jacobsian street life than the role of Florida’s “creative” yuppies.”
I don’t see the connection.
Florida may be right. He may be wrong.
Every city has service workers. Some do a good job, some not.
So?
Neither one has anything directly to do with street life.