Richard Florida Visits Tucson - Sept. 27, 2007

On September 27 nearly 500 people attended TREO's Annual Luncheon and were addressed by keynote speaker Dr. Richard Florida, one of the world's leading intellectuals on economic competitiveness, demographic trends and cultural and technological innovation.

Tucson ranks high on several of Florida's indexes: No. 2 for creativity, No. 3 for technology, No. 5 for talent and No. 6 for tolerance.

Florida noted that TREO's Economic Blueprint is a great plan to improve on what is already a great, "hip" city, and a real emphasis must be placed on the attraction and retention of young professionals. His next book will focus on research that indicates members of the "creative class" often choose the city they want to live in before they choose a job. This means that to attract and retain the "creative class" Tucson must have a vibrant downtown, it must have an abundance of arts, culture and entertainment, and it must plan new and innovative transportation options.

Florida summed up his message by advising Tucson leaders that economic success can be achieved through what he calls the 3 T's: Technology, Talent and Tolerance. You can learn more about Richard Florida at www.creativeclass.com. 

What does Richard Florida think about Tucson?
"(Tucson's) economic development leadership really, really gets it. The folks in Tucson have done some terrific analysis of their current situation and put together one of the best strategic plans for how to grow and prosper I've seen in quite some time."

Click here to read more of what Richard Florida had to say about Tucson after his visit here.