Building Creative

The Role of Art and Culture

A leading authority on information technology argues that cities must
nurture the creative potential and community engagement of their citizens.

By John M. Eger

Cities across the globe are strug- San Diego even commissioned a quality of life. A communitys plan
gling today to reinvent themselves City of the Future committee in 1993 to reinvent itself for the new,
for the postindustrial economy to make plans to build the first fiber- knowledge-based economy and
anticipated by sociologist Daniel Bell optic-wired city in the United States society therefore requires educating
and others in the 1960s. in the belief that, just as cities of the all its citizens about this new global
Many communities have been past were built along waterways, revolution in the nature of work. To
adapting their communications railroads, and interstate highways, succeed, cities must prepare their
infrastructure to meet the needs of the cities of the future will be built citizens to take ownership of their
an age in which information is the along information highways communities and educate the next
most valuable commodity. Most of wired and wireless information generation of leaders and workers to
these initiatives, such as the U.S. Na- pathways connecting every home, meet the new global challenges of
tional Information Infrastructure and office, school, and hospital and, what has now been termed the Cre-
Singapores Intelligent Island, focus through the World Wide Web, mil- ative Economy.
on the technological aspects of the lions of other individuals and insti- At the heart of such an effort is
postindustrial economy. tutions around the world. recognition of the vital roles that art
ONE NORTHEAST / LONDON PRESS SERVICE
These new information and culture play in enhancing eco-
infrastructures are un- nomic development and, ultimately,
doubtedly important. But defining a creative communitya
creating a twenty-first- community that exploits the vital
century city is not so much linkages among art, culture, and
a question of technology as commerce. Communities that con-
it is of jobs, dollars, and sciously invest in these broader
human and financial resources are at
the very forefront in preparing their
The Intelligent Community citizens to meet the challenges of the
Forum recently selected the rapidly evolving, and now global,
city of Sunderland, England, knowledge-based economy and
as one of the worlds top seven society.
intelligent communities of 2005.
The Forums judging was based
on such factors as the availabil- Cyberspace and Cyberplace
ity of broadband infrastructure,
the presence of a knowledge-
The mammoth global network of
based workforce, a communal computer systems collectively re-
focus on innovation, and a pro- ferred to as the Internet has blos-
gressive social and political somed from an obscure tool used by
culture. government researchers and aca-

2006 World Future Society 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 450, Bethesda, MD 20814, U.S.A. All rights reserved.

18 THE FUTURIST March-April 2006 [Link]

Communities:
[Link]

Cyberspace to cyberplace: Communities Internet usage statistics point to previous communications advance
in which citizens are connected and creative one billion users worldwide, with a has been adopted by the public so
will become stronger and more vital in the growth rate of 15% per month. The widely so rapidly.
Creative Economy. World Wide Web, the Internets most Many people are concerned about
popular component, is being inte- where this phenomenon ultimately
grated into the marketing, informa- will lead. Predictions range from
demics into a worldwide mass com- tion, and communications strategies electronic virtual communities, in
munications medium. The Internet is of almost every major corporation, which individuals interact socially
now recognized as the leading car- educational institution, charitable with like-minded Internet users
rier of all communications and fi- and political organization, commu- around the world, to fully net-
nancial transactions affecting life nity service agency, and government worked dwellings in which elec-
and work in the twenty-first century. entity in the developed world. No tronic devices and other appliances

THE FUTURIST March-April 2006 [Link] 19

respond to the spoken commands of of economic development, job needed to help reinvent our great
residents. growth, and higher living standards cities to reclaim the sense of place
In recent years, people habitually overall. In other words, technological and civic pride they once possessed,
have referred to the domain in which propagation in smart communities is as well as to ensure that no one is left
Internet-based communications oc- not an end in itself, but rather a behind. In The Magic of Dialogue:
cur as cyberspace, an abstract commu- means to a larger end with clear and Tr a n s f o r m i n g C o n f l i c t i n t o C o -
nications space that exists both compelling benefits for communities. operation (1999), Daniel Yankelovich
everywhere and nowhere. But until We have learned a great deal about argues that there is a struggle
flesh-and-blood humans can be digi- the challenges that cities face in a between two one-sided visions of
tized into electronic pulses in the new global information economy, our future: the vision of the free mar-
same way that computer scientists an economy based on something ket and the vision of the civil
transform images and data, the other than the production of goods society. Citizens need to create the
denizens of cyberspace will have to and services or agriculture. Al- social capital that distinguishes
continue living in some sort of real though these basic industries con- their communities, and in the
physical spacea home, a neighbor- tinue, the new economy relies on the process close the gap between the
hood, and a community. production, use, and transfer of in- electorate and those they elect, as
Many communities, often without formation and knowledge. Robert D. Putnam put it in his semi-
being directly conscious of it, are be- In fact, one distinct possibility is nal work Bowling Alone (2000).
ginning to design the initial blue- that cities of the future will not be Cities of the future no doubt will
prints for the cyberplaces of the cities in the usual sense, but rather be creative communities in the
twenty-first century. As early as 1976, powerful regional economies. sense that they recognize art and cul-
the French government launched an Kenichi Ohmae, author of The Bor- ture as vital, not only to a regions
aggressive plan called Tlmatique, derless World (1999), suggests we are livability, but also to the prepared-
which sought to place computers on witnessing the resurgence of the age- ness of its workforce. Future cities
every desktop and in every residence old concept of the city-state or, as he will understand that art-infused ed-
in France. Singapores Intelligent Is- prefers, the region-state. The new ucation is critical to producing the
land plan includes the worlds first region-state has the power and au- next generation of leaders and work-
nationwide broadband network, thority to take ownership of its own ers for the knowledge economy.
Singapore ONE. Japan is working future and establish a governing While art, music, and all things cul-
toward an electronic future known process reflecting a new model of tural have been enjoyed and appreci-
as Teletopia, with 150 municipalities government for the digital age. ated by every generation, there has
transforming themselves into cyber- Civic engagement and new civic often been an often unspoken as-
cities specializing in various indus- collaboratories (collaborative sumption that they were nonessen-
trial applications of information projects and endeavors) will also be tial, even frills. Today, the demand
technology. Dubai has launched its
Internet City, and Torino, Italy, has [Link]

its Infoville initiative. In the United

States in the mid-1990s, the Clinton
administration unveiled the ambi-
tious National Information Infra-
structure initiative, with the goal of
linking every school and school-age
child to the Internet by the turn of
the century.
The state of California in 1996
launched its statewide Smart Com-
munities program, recognizing that
electronic networks like these will
play an increasingly important role
in the economic competitiveness of
its municipalities. The underlying
premise of the California initiative is
that smart communities are not, at
their core, exercises in the deploy-
ment and use of technology, but
rather active tools in the promotion

Many communities, often without being

consciously aware of it, are already
designing the initial blueprints for the
cyberplaces of the twenty-first century.

20 THE FUTURIST March-April 2006 [Link]

 RICHARD B. LEVINE / PHOTOGRAPHER SHOWCASE / NEWSCOM

for creativity has outpaced the abil- of economic life in the twenty-first
it y o f m o s t n a t i o n s t o p ro du c e centurybut this does not necessar-
enough workers simply to meet their ily mean the news is all bad for
needs. workers in the United States and
other developed countries.
Some economists believe that
Jobs in the Creative Age
globalization and digitization will
Worrying about the lack of quali- improve the profits and efficiency of
fied workers in this day and age may American corporations and set the
sound odd. With the globalization of stage for the next big growth-gener-
media and markets in full bloom, ating breakthrough. But what will
America, for example, is beginning that be?
to see the outlines of yet another out- A number of think tanks, includ-
migration of jobs, unleashing new ing Japans Nomura Research Insti-
concerns about rising unemploy- tute, argue that the elements are in
ment. Many economists are alarmed place for the advance of the Creative
that the latest round of losses, unlike Age, a period in which free, demo-
the earlier shift of manufacturing cratic nations thrive and prosper
jobs to Taiwan and less-developed because of their tolerance for dissent,
East Asian countries, will have a dra- respect for individual enterprise,
matic impact on Americas wealth freedom of expression, and recogni-
and well-being. tion that innovation, not mass pro-
Students at the Kipp Star elementary
Twenty years ago, it was fashion- duction of low-value goods and ser- charter school in New York, New York,
able to blame foreign competition vices, is the driving force for the new hone their music-making abilities. The Kipp
and cheap labor markets abroad for economy. Star charter schools are run by the U.S.
the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs, The new economys demand for Department of Education within the public
but the pain of the loss was softened creativity has manifested itself in the school system.
by the emergence of a new services emergence and growth of what
industry. Now that the service sector author Richard Florida has termed
has also widely automated itself, the Creative Class. Although Florida source for economic development,
banking, insurance, and telecommu- defines this demographic group very according to a report by the National
nications firms are eliminating layers broadly, he does a convincing job of Governors Association. NGA credits
of management and infrastructure. underscoring the facts of life and Philadelphia, Newark, and Charleston,
The traditional corporate pyramid is work in the new knowledge econ- South Carolina, as cities that have
disappearing, replaced by highly omy. As he points out, every aspect used the creation of arts districts as
skilled professional work teams. and every manifestation of creativ- centerpieces in efforts to combat
S t a t e - o f - t h e a r t s o f t w a re a n d itycultural, technological, and eco- increasing crime and suburban flight
telecommunications technologies nomicis inextricably linked. by restoring vitality to downtown
now enable any kind of enterprise to By tracking certain migration pat- areas.
maximize efficiency and productiv- terns and trends, Florida did a huge The governors report vividly
ity by employing foreign workers service for those struggling to rede- showed that arts funding reliably
wherever they are located, making fine their communities for the new generates positive revenue. For ex-
the service-sector jobs even more knowledge economy. However, ample, Virginia collected $849 mil-
precious. Forrester Research Inc., a many questions remain. Can the lion in arts-related revenue in 2000.
market-research firm, estimates that community, through public art or That year, more than 245,000 arts-
some 3.3 million service jobs will cultural offerings, enhance the cre- based jobs were created in the six
move out of the United States over ativity of its citizens? And if the new states of New England. Michigan
the next 10 to 15 years. Others put economy so desperately demands earned a tenfold return for every
that number at 15 million and say the creative worker and leader, what dollar invested in the Council for
the results will be devastating for the should schools and universities do to Arts and Cultural Affairs.
U.S. economy. prepare the next generation of cre- In the last three years, the Los An-
While CEOs, economists, and ative people? geles County Board of Supervisors
politicians are telling us that these has developed Arts for Alla
are short-term adjustments, it is clear Regional Blueprint for Arts Educa-
Recent U.S. Initiatives
that the pervasive spread of the tion. The programs objective is for
Internet, digitization, and the avail- U.S. investing in the arts them- every public-school student in the
ability of white-collar skills abroad selves is already a $134 billion indus- county to receive an effective K-12
mean potentially huge cost savings try, according to the Washington, education, of which the arts are an
for global corporations. Conse- D.C., based advocacy organization important component. Under this
quently, this shift of high-tech ser- Americans for the Arts. But the real plan, each school district will ac-
vice jobs will be a permanent feature benefit is that the arts are a potent knowledge that exposure to and

THE FUTURIST March-April 2006 [Link] 21

participation in the arts strengthens with a senior vice president of the key to studying events like that,
a childs academic development and Los Angeles based Alliance of Mo- Weinhausen says, is learning how to
growth as an individual, prepares tion Picture and Television Produc- ask the questions that illustrate rela-
the child to feel a part of and make a ers, who were asking Governor Wil- tionships and patterns.
positive contribution to the commu- son to declare a state of emergency Until recently, there has been only
nity, and ensures a creative and com- to help Hollywood find digital limited evidence of the connection
petitive workforce to meet the eco- artists. Silicon Valley, we learned, between education and appreciation
nomic opportunities in both the also wanted the governor to lobby of the arts and success in the post-
present and the future. Thus, se- Washington for more foreign visas industrial age of information. But
quential instruction in multiple arts for the same reason. There were now it is becoming increasingly ap-
disciplines will be scheduled into parent that arts initiatives will be the
each school day and accounted for in Arts initiatives will be the hallmarks of the most-successful
the budget of every Los Angeles schools and universities and, in turn,
County school district. hallmarks of the most-success- the most-successful and vibrant
I first realized that we were doing ful schools and universities twenty-first-century cities and re-
something fundamentally wrong in gions. One key to this vision is that
K-12 education when I was asked to and, in turn, the most-success- we must acknowledge the current
chair Californias then governor Pete ful and vibrant twenty-first- out-migration of high-tech jobs as a
Wilsons Commission on Informa- challenge to the status quo. As for-
tion Technology in 1996. About the century cities and regions. mer Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly
same time, the governor had a sub- Fiorina told a panel of governors a
committee on education technology, people aplenty who were computer short time ago, Keep your tax in-
which I also chaired. Participating in literate, they claimed, but could not centives and highway interchanges;
that effort were such luminaries as draw. In the new economy, they ar- we will go where the highly skilled
one of the founders of the personal gued, artistic talents are vital to all people are.
computer industry, Alan Kay; Larry industries dependent upon the mar- Those communities placing a pre-
Ellison, founder and chairman of Or- riage of computers and telecommu- mium on cultural, ethnic, and artistic
acle Corporation; Joanne Kosburg, nications. diversity, and reinventing their
former president of Californians for Sadly, we discovered that art and knowledge factories for the creative
the Arts and secretary of state and music had been cut out of most Cali- age, will likely burst with creativity
consumer affairs under Wilson; and fornia schools over 20 years ago in and entrepreneurial fervor. These are
Jeff Berg, chairman and CEO of our zeal to be number one in the the ingredients so essential to devel-
International Creative Management world in math and science. At the oping and attracting the bright and
Inc. time this decision was made, the creative people to generate new
Early on in our deliberations Larry United States was about eleventh in patents and inventions, innovative
Ellison suggested our goal should be the world, according to the Organi- world-class products and services,
to put a personal computer in the zation for Economic Cooperation and the finance and marketing plans
backpack of every K-12 student by and Development. Now, the United to support them. Nothing less will
the year 2001. It was a big, startling States ranks about twenty-fourth in ensure a citys economic, social, and
idea and captured everyones atten- the world while Singapore, Sweden, political viability in the twenty-first
tion regarding the enormity of our Denmark, and Finland are in the top century.
task. California in 1996 was about 10, in part because they have found a
fiftieth among the 50 states in com- way to underscore the linkages About the Author
puters per pupil. between music and math, art and John M. Eger is executive
But Alan Kay shouted across the science. director of the International
Center for Communications
room, Would you give five pencils One institution working to prepare
at San Diego State Univer-
to a school, Larry? The computer, its students for the challenges of the
sity and holds the Van Deer-
Alan argued, was nothing more than new millennium and the information lin Chair of Communication
a pencil. What about the paper, he age is the University of California at and Public Policy. He has
asked, and more importantly, what San Diegos Sixth College. The new served as a planning expert for CBS Broad-
about the ideas that must come colleges themes are art, culture, and cast International and as a director of the
when we ask the student to put pen- technology. Students will study the White House Office of Telecommunications
cil to paper? Our challenge, he said, progress of the human species and Policy. His address is International Center
was to better understand how stu- its varied cultures and will explore for Communication, San Diego State Uni-
dents learn, what they needed to watershed events in history in which versity, 5500 Campanile Drive, PFSA 160,
San Diego, California 92182. Telephone
learn to survive and succeed in to- art, culture, and technology con-
619-594-6910; e-mail jeger@[Link].
days knowledge economy, and what verged. Provost Gabrielle Weinhausen
our teachers in private and public has noted that the rediscovery of
learning institutions were doing perspective during the Renaissance FEEDBACK: Send your comments
about it. enabled architects and artists to col- about this article to letters@[Link].
Later that year I was asked to meet laborate on the creation of maps. The

22 THE FUTURIST March-April 2006 [Link]