If you have stopped by the Shanghai Restaurant lately, you might have noticed the preview exhibition for the Centretown Art Tour, to take place next Sunday, July 13 from 10:00am to 6:00pm.
While I missed it – and the party (darn!) – I haven’t missed the main event. Only in its second year, the CATwalk is a self-guided tour of the homes and studios of a decidedly urban community of artists. More than just an excuse for nosy neighbours, this event also offers an opportunity to gain new insight into life right in the heart of Ottawa’s downtown.
Recently, Ken Gray of the Ottawa Citizen took a careful look at Ottawa in relation to some of the concepts put forward in Richard Florida’s latest book “Who’s your City?” . Rotman School Professor Richard Florida is best known for his creative class theories, and for his work in the areas of urban renewal and talent migration. Loosely defined, Florida’s creative class is composed of engineers, scientists, architects, artists, musicians, poets, tech experts, professors and other knowledge workers. These are people whose job it is to create meaningful new forms and to innovate. Florida proposes that a city’s economic and social success will be increasingly dependent on its ability to attract and accommodate this important demographic segment.
In his article, Ken Gray suggests that while Ottawa may look good on paper, with several of Florida’s requisite key ingredients already in the city’s mix, this is more by default than by design. He also suggests that Ottawa could be more strategic in attracting the coveted “creative class”. Here, according to Mr. Gray, are a few ideas that might help:
-Ensure the city’s labour market can support a varied and upwardly mobile career by nurturing greater innovation in the federal Public Service, by encouraging start ups, and by attracting more head offices in the tech sector
-Promote Ottawa’s creative core, intellectual capacity, excellent facilities, and relatively inexpensive housing
-Modernize the transit system
-Get serious about selling the city
Is the CATwalk evidence of a creative convergence in the downtown core? I, for one, will wander through Centretown with more than just a penchant for art and a passing interest…
with help from Wikipedia
Mon, Jul 7, 2008
Urban Cognoscenti