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Creative Economies: How They Shape The World

PGC Team

In the digital age of hashtags, Instagram, and social media stardom, cities with thriving creative economies are trending in the United States. Not only do they offer social and business networking opportunities, they are also home to museums, concert venues, and other tourist commodities making them vacation destinations and ideal places to live. These economic systems centered around creative and cultural ideals, increase a city’s value based on its potential for structural, occupational, industrial, and cultural growth.

Creatively economic cities inspire developments around the globe through their influence on cultural goods like music, art, fashion, and film, and through that influence, they have also established an intra-urban manifestation unique to their location that appeals to capitalist firms and consumers alike. Thus, attracting migration and tourism, business and hospitality, and changes in infrastructure to meet the demands of their ever-increasing population. Today, society is experiencing the beneficial impact of creative economies on the rise as technology advances and they become more visible worldwide, particularly here in Texas.

Economic Fusion

In the United States, New York City and Los Angeles are renowned as world-wide epicenters of industry in the realms of both business and the arts. This fusion of economic trade between Corporate America and Artisan America is the birthplace of a creative economy. The symbiotic relationship blends the traditional white collar versus blue collar principle of employment in a way that is super beneficial for the city itself, its inhabitants, and surrounding cities.

One, the artsy and cultural aesthetic of said city appeals to the masses making it a more desirable place to live, visit, and aspire to. Two, the atmosphere and lifestyle cultivated there is seen as an amenity for many businesses and their employees and motivates corporations both large and small to locate within the area. And three, the attractiveness and buzz of said city also inherently brands surrounding cities as more attractive for their sheer proximity.

Cognitive-Cultural Capitalism

This symbiotic relationship of trade inspires cognitive-cultural capitalism. Meaning, the amenities provided by a thriving creative city attract high technology industry, business and financial services, media, and cultural industry. Then, these two trades piggy-back off one another.

The corporations stimulate the economy with large scale trade that the artists consume while also bringing with them a market of high-skilled, educated professionals with a means to partake in the creative heartbeat of the city buying art, tickets to Broadway and concerts, museum trips, nights at the ballet, and enjoying city nightlife at bars and clubs. This back and forth exchange keeps the city and its inhabitants progressing and advancing culturally and promotes occupational growth in both sectors of industry.

Structural Growth

Occupational growth leads to population growth which leads to structural growth. The touristic draw that stems from appeal and popularity generates dialogue not only with Corporate America but also city officials and local government and impacts the construction and demand for museums, parks, concert venues, and all sorts of revenues for the city and businesses alike. This also is persuasive in terms of city upkeep, making sure streets are clean, roads are paved, buildings are aesthetically pleasing.

The housing market also does well in this type of economy, because it becomes necessary to accommodate the influx of people moving into the city. Apartments and condos are renovated or built, and property values increase as demand increases. It is known that city dwellers chose location over square footage, meaning high volumes of people to an area living in smaller spaces.

How Does Texas Factor into the Equation?

If Texas were its own country, it would be the tenth largest economy in the world with a population of more than 29 million people. Our company, Precision Global Corporation, is based in Dallas, one of the four up and coming creative economies in the state along with Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. Though all titans of industry holding their own in population and consumerism, Austin has gained the most international attention of the four as “The Live Music Capital of the World”. Austin earned its name, because its overwhelming popularity of live performers inspired the establishment of numerous venues in the area.

On a typical Saturday, there can be over 100 different live performances around town, because Austin has more venues per capita than anywhere in the nation. This massive output of music and growing artist population brought with it a demand for more housing, local business, and tourist attractions, while also substantially increasing the overall wealth of the city. While Austin leads the way in popularity, the Dallas-Fort Worth area is the standout economically.

According to a study done by the University of North Texas, the economic impact of creative enterprises in Dallas-Fort Worth was an estimated $34 billion industry in 2015 alone versus $4.3 billion in Austin in 2012 (austintexas.gov) falling closely behind the creative economy activity of New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago but beating out those of Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Miami. The recession that drastically affected most of the nation during that time left Dallas-Fort Worth seemingly intact, because of its strong investment in its creative economy and the revamping and sustaining of cultural downtown districts and hotspots like Deep Ellum, Fair Park, and the West Village.

Conclusion

As the International Journal of Cultural Policy stated, “creativity is the input, and content or intellectual property is the output.” That is exactly why infamous cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas have remained popular. They’re attractive; they fuse the economies of business and the arts; and, they cultivate structural, occupational, and cultural growth through cognitive-cultural capitalism. All of these factors lay the groundwork for a thriving creative economy filled with limitless opportunity and a future worth investing in.

For more information about opportunity zones with Precision Global, check out the ‘Real Estate Opportunities’ link at the top of the page and browse through our ‘Current Projects’. We would love to share more information with you. You can create your future; we can help.

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