The New Urban Crisis
How our cities are increasing inequality, deepening segregation, and failing the middle class — and what we can do about it
By Vienna Vendittelli and Donya Taghizadeh
We are at a turning point in history where urban cities are dictating the future of human prosperity, but author Richard Florida would argue that it’s at the expense of skyrocketing inequality, deep segregation and a shrinking middle class. Florida, a university professor and director of cities at the Martin Prosperity Institute at the University of Toronto, offers a refreshing perspective into the new contradiction of urban cities and dives deep into what trends we’re seeing around the world today. For Florida, urban cities are not only a playground for elites, creative thinkers and the young aspiring generation but they also simultaneously breed systemic inequalities which disproportionately disadvantages marginalized groups. Although urban cities have an excess of employment opportunities and increased access to class mobility, characteristics of urban cities such as gentrification and the freedom of choice of the elite class leaves low-income families in a poverty trap that is generational and unavoidable.
Taking his readers back to what cities were many decades ago, Florida weaves a narrative that encapsulates the history of cities. Urban cities were not always the prosperous tech hubs and economic epicenters they are today. The previous urban crisis painted a much different picture where economic decline and persistent poverty were defining characteristics of cities in the 60s and 70s. Now, rather than a ‘hollowing out’ effect, cities around the world are forcing ‘winner-takes-all’ urbanism where those unable to keep up are pushed out. This shift, apparent in large metropolis hubs, is a reflection of deep rooted institutional and structural mechanisms at work. The historical framework Florida paints is important for his argument throughout the book because it connects why current processes of urbanism exist today. Urban cities have become larger than what they were ever meant to be. With the Gross Domestic Product of various developed countries concentrated in these economic hubs, even the slightest decline in growth could be the beginning of turmoil. This makes the persistent development of cities crucial for wealthy countries around the world but the trends that go along with it are worrisome.
For Florida, the new urban crisis, that’s built on a foundation of historical inequalities, has been unfavourable for low-income families and racial minorities from the beginning. Urban cities were traditionally occupied by service class workers and were overwhelmed with violence, crime and financial instability. With development and investment in the latter half of the 20th century, cities have triggered elites to move back to the urban core. The influx of Florida’s ‘creative class’ to urban centres has accelerated growth at an unprecedented rate, making cities the economic hubs for wealth, new talent and cultural diversity. Cities and countries in the face of this new wave of urbanism left little room institutionally, structurally, and economically for anyone unable to adapt. Florida does a good job of highlighting these inadequacies through a historical narrative of the demographic and gentrification patterns that have evolved over time between the urban and suburban cities around the world. However, his seven pillars on how to tackle these deep rooted, systemic failures suggest solutions that overlook the importance of how government institutions, public stakeholders and community members engage with one another through important decision making processes.
Florida suggests a variety of strategies which touch on governmental deregulation of housing practices, government investment in infrastructure and transit, redistribution of wealth, increasing minimum wage, support for assisting cities around the world and empowering local communities to have a greater role in policy making. Although his pillars are well intentioned and recognize neglected social obligations, Florida’s depiction of these strategies are superficial.
One of the major themes of Florida’s book is this idea that the answer to the urban crisis is within urban cities themselves. Local governments hold the key to ensuring that institutional changes are made and executed effectively. This idea of transferring power to localities weaves throughout each chapter and offers different perspectives of how this can be accomplished. A weakness of his suggestion was how this can be practically implemented, particularly within governmental structures that cannot back this type of autonomy. When we think about urban economic hubs such as Toronto, which is Florida’s adopted home city, localities must function within the confines of a federal system and cities have no constitutional power over their jurisdiction. Unfortunately, there are limitations to local powers in these contexts where provincial priorities and big-picture policy decisions take precedent.
Florida’s book is powerful and impactful, particularly during a time when many public policy priorities are urban focused and the sustainability of these economic hubs are in the hands of policy makers. Florida is frustrated and worried about the future of those that have cultivated much of the beauty and diversity that these urban cities have to offer. If your objective is to become more informed about the characteristics of urban cities and how they impact people’s livelihoods, The New Urban Crisis is a great place to start. Florida’s concepts are thought provoking and have a tone of urgency that is necessary for those that care about social issues. His last chapter “Urbanism for All”, is when Florida begins to think about the future and how we can become instrumental in making changes to current structures engrained in urban cities and unfortunately that’s where it ends. The New Urban Crisis should be read in conjunction with literature that offers complimentary pillars to Florida’s but that thinks more critically about the future of urban cities because the only way to move forward is to look ahead and that is what was missing from this reading.
