What makes a “fast” city — and does Toronto make the cut?
BCE Place: one of the reasons why Toronto
is considered “Fast”. photo by Michael Clesle
According to latest issue of the business and technology magazine Fast Company, “fast” cities are defined by their opportunity, their innovation and their energy. They’re incubators for a culture that values engagement and entrepreneurship, generates and enables technology, and attracts and retains creative citizens.
Throw these criteria into a blender and out comes the magazine’s 2007 “Fast Cityâ€? list: 30 cities scattered across the globe, including Toronto. Yep, good ol’ Hogtown is listed as a “Global Village,â€? along with Johannesburg, South Africa and Berlin, Germany.
So why Toronto? Start with a mosaic population that encompasses over 100 nationalities, with 44% of inhabitants foreign-born. Then mix in an active cultural community anchored by 29 (!) film festivals and a skyline dotted by works by I.M. Pei, Frank Gehry, Daniel Liebskind and Santiago Calatrava (my personal fave — check out the shot of his stunning atrium at BCE Place).
Of course, the article is not without its problems, with two jumping immediately to mind:
- It’s very US-centric. 12 of the 30 cities are American, including such dubious choices as Fort Collins, Colorado (“R&D Cluster�) and Boise, Idaho (“High Tech Hot Spot�).
- There are simply too many subcategories. In a frenzy of hyper-segmentation, the magazine creates, not three, not six but NINE sub-categories, each of which contains three to four cities. The divisions are a bit artificial, and obscure areas of obvious overlap.
Despite my quibbling, though, the article is a must-read for anyone who cares about cities and the people, ideas, companies and institutions that make them tick.
One last point that makes the Fast Company piece worth a read: it contains some bon mots from Richard Florida, the “creative classâ€? guru identified in the article as a professor of public policy at George Mason University in Virginia. But, as any reader of the Globe and Mail and National Post would know, he’s the newest academic star headed to the University of Toronto.
According to Florida, “The real forces for change in America and around the world are the mayors and the local communities.” Not a bad line, eh Mayor Miller?
Ross Wallace coordinates MaRS relations and collaboration with all levels of government, regional and international partners as well as other key stakeholders.