Defiant Imagination

Finding the right city

As part of my research on cities and personality, I’ve just finished perusing Richard Florida’s Who’s Your City. Florida says we should look at different factors when searching for the right city to move in. One of them is personality.

This shouldn’t be a secret to anybody that certain cities offer different types of stimulation. For instance, the American coasts are reknown for being creative hubs. One can feel stimulated by the amount of art galleries and other cultural offerings, and the general atmosphere that encourages residents to create, launch their own companies, go to the museum, etc. In return, these residents will contribute to solidify this environment, which in turn will attract more creative people, etc.

Florida argues that, because of this cycle, American cities end up having a personality of their own. After doing some extensive research, he’s found that their personality pretty much matches the Big Five personality traits usually applied to people: openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism. Therefore when we move to a new place, we should be aware not only of our own personality type, but also of the city’s personality. (To determine your personality type, you can do this online test: http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/)

The Big Five model has been criticized and rightfully so; it is difficult to put personalities into categories and draw conclusions from that. Yet I do think this was a useful tool for this study. The maps that Florida created are shockingly compelling!

Here’s what Florida says of people belonging to the openness category and what it means for cities:

Certain personality types seem to require higher and more intense levels of stimulation – both literally and figuratively. They are drawn to extreme experience – complex music, intense tastes, exciting places, and eccentric people. It’s not by chance that people with these qualities happen to cluster in highly stimulating places, I thought. They are inclined, if not programmed, to seek them out.

Openness to experience is the only personality type that plays a consistent role in regional economic development. It is highly correlated with jobs in computing, science, arts, design, and entertainment; with overall human capital levels, high-tech industry, income, and housing values.

Unfortunately, this research has been done for the U.S. only and no data is available for Canadian cities. But I think that in order to progress, I would have to determine:

• Vancouver’s personality type
• The flourishing industries in the region: do they belong to the creative industry?
• What can we fear for the city if the film industry, the video games industry and the fine arts are threatened?
• Why do so many young people leave Vancouver, and what personality types are they? Who are the personality types who choose to stay?

On top of being a fascinating read, Florida’s book made me realize so many things about myself. A lot of times I felt he was talking about me! This has led me to think about who I am and what I need to evolve as a person.

Let me know if you think of other areas I should explore based on Florida’s work. As usual, suggestions and comments are very welcome!

Vancouver, who are you? Credits: Flickr user s.yume. The caption for this picture reads: "A beautiful view of beautiful Vancouver BC from the seawall in Stanley Park. Vancouver is an amazingly idyllic place to be, beautiful all year round. How many times have I said beautiful? It really is my favorite city on Earth, I can't think of any place I'd rather live."