The ideal workspace :
" the casual, non-threatening encounter."

-Malcolm Gladwell

When studying the development behind creative cities, I came across the writings of Jane Jacobs - who argued for the importance of urban planning that does not disconnect people from cultural experiences, relationships, and a connection with a diverse environment. Jane Jacobs', essentially hated on "squelches" who disabled this process... squelchers who are political business leaders who divert and say no to "new ideas" and community needs.


I stumbled on this when reading the highly controversial ideas of Richard Florida and the human capital theory, who argues that cities must be open to an atmosphere of tolerance, diversity, and creativity in order to enjoy higher rates of innovation; and to further avoid disconnectedness, sprawl, and intolerance. The theory basically shows that economic growth is dependent on highly educated and skilled people who produce innovative/creative ideas and products. And therefore cities and regions must invest in the education of people to enhance global competitiveness. He says that economic growth relies on the clustering of diverse and creative people with highly developed skills.

This is a concept that is alive in the relatively gentrified suburb that I live in; where highly skilled creative people are attracted to live here because of it's diversity and highly networked atmosphere. It is a place where the coffee shop turns into a working 'hub', and the street becomes a place for creatives to be seen, meet, and exchange ideas. In the 1980s the gay community moved in, and creative business people flocked to experience an area of diversity and progression. Which now has developed into a population of people who are less concerned about climbing the ladder - and in Florida's words, are more inclined to gain employment via horizontal networking and job changing within the creative industries.

The area has developed into a highly gentrified area that is diverse - yet also incredibly rich, in the sense that ideas and innovation is prime concern. And people who 'job hop' have no shame. A place where lots of creatives work in studios or at home; far away from a setting that is top-down, bureaucratic and scarily sterile. The 'front loaded career' and the 'defferred life' seems to be the norm - but the culture here in New Zealand resembles a slightly more tolerant  atmosphere in regards to the work-life-balance. And the key to innovation, creativity and happiness is often a case whereby people are working from home, or in a studio up the street. The people live where they work, work where they live, socialise where they work, and live where they socialise, contributing largely to a sense of home in a real physical space; allowing people to be themselves rather them compartmentalising their lives between: work=city, home = suburbs, friends = sprawled; and your life = disconnected.

Living here has only taught me the importance of place, and how innovation and creativity can be fuelled by living in an area that operates as a highly networked, relaxed, social space with highly skilled people who want to collaborate together. These external factors have allowed for conversations between people at work, at home, and in the street to move back and forth between talk about our lives, our opinons, our ideas, and our emotions - all in the one space. When people 'go to work' their social lives do not need to be shut down by management, and when they go to a coffee shop people don't stop working - sharing ideas between outsiders is often the best remedy for a creative lull. And that is when real conversations can breed, and innovation can begin. Peoples identities can be formed based on specialised skill, and via the suburb one lives, aesthetic taste, and the experiences within that area; rather then identity creation based on the one-job-for-life type. I am all for the portfolio life - and I think I've found the ideal external factors that will enable me to live it.