I just read this interesting article
printed in the Post in April about the D.C. economy. Here’s some
excerpts, but read the article if you’re not familiar with D.C. or
Florida:

… The region has a balkanized social
geography, reinforced by an inadequate transportation system, that
minimizes the interaction between old and young, urban and suburban,
white and black, rich and poor.

And the urban core, while rich
in well-maintained public spaces and buildings, is short on the kind of
neat old buildings and funky neighborhoods that provide architectural
character for other cities.

It is not exactly clear what a
region can do about these shortcomings, particularly when political
power is shared among two states, the District and a half-dozen
counties, and the business community divides along geographic and
industry lines. But the value of Florida’s work is that it helps to
shift attention away from trying to attract corporate headquarters with
tax breaks and highway exits, and toward attracting a creative
workforce with a vibrant music scene and affordable loft space. …

Based
on Florida’s work on the “creative class,� my guess is that The Post
200 will remain a study in continuity until Washington becomes the kind
of exciting, cool place where ambitious and creative young people from
around the world want to live and work. We’ve got a good, running start
and a good base to build on. But we’re not there yet.

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