A Visible Homosexual Presence Increases Likelihood of Creative, Innovative, Exciting Environment
August 10th 2008 08:23
Category: No Category
I was trying to look for information on the gay and lesbian community in Japan when I found this article:
Gritty City Wins the Boho Crown
by Helen Carter, from The Guardian
Monday, May 26, 2003
Manchester is the most bohemian place in the UK, according to research by a leading think tank.
Demos has discovered that the world's first industrial city has shed its outdated gritty image to become top of the Boho Britain index. It used three indices to reach its conclusion - the combination of its gay-friendliness, ethnic diversity, and the number of patent applications per head of population.
Manchester has an international reputation for its gay village, around Canal Street, made famous by Channel 4's Queer as Folk. The city will host Europride later this year, which is expected to attract more than one million visitors to the festival in August.
The regeneration of Manchester, since the city centre was virtually rebuilt following the IRA bomb seven years ago, has contributed to a surge in creativity. Last year's successful Commonwealth Games has also brought a new confidence to the city.
Manchester is also rich in architecture, with its neo-gothic town hall and university buildings and its old warehouses, some of which have been converted into loft apartments.
It has a large and thriving student population with three universities - the University of Manchester, Umist, and Manchester Metropolitan University. Next year, Umist and the University of Manchester will merge to create a "super university".
On the edge of the city, Rusholme's neon-lit "curry mile" is like the Las Vegas of the north-west. More than 10,000 people a week eat there.
According to the Boho Britain creative index, the next most creative cities in the UK are Leicester and London.
Richard Florida, who is professor of economic development at Carnegie Mellon University, used the three indicators to measure creativity in his research for Demos. San Francisco was ranked top of a similar exercise carried out on US cities.
He said: "Creative, innovative and entrepreneurial activities tend to flourish in the same kinds of places that attract gays and others outside the norm. When people with varied backgrounds and attitudes collide, economic growth is likely.
"Most centres of technology-based business growth also have high concentrations of gay couples. What I have found is that straight men and women also look for a visible gay community as an indication that a city is likely to be an exciting place to live."
Manchester is also leading the number of patent applications - another indicator of creativity.
Peter Mearns, marketing director of the Northwest Development Agency, said: "Creative industries are hugely important to the regional economy and are already worth £1.7bn. Only 100,000 people are working to generate that wealth, but it is a very good example of how Manchester is leading the region."
Jon Ladd, chief executive of the British Urban Regeneration Association, said: "The change that has occurred in Manchester over the last 20 years has been astounding. The perception that it is a dour place is very wrong."
The creative arts scene in Manchester is also booming. Visitor figures at the Manchester art gallery, which re-opened a year ago after refurbishment, have been much higher than anticipated. Almost 400,000 people have visited it in the last 12 months, against an estimated 250,000 visitors.
Luke Bainbridge, editor of City Life magazine in Manchester, points to the emergence of popular music as a key factor.
"Manchester is a second-tier city like Chicago and Detroit," he said. "It is easy to forget in this jungle of chrome and glass and wooden floors what a depressing place this used to be in the 1970s."
He said that the ethnic diversity of the city had led to the development of Northern Soul in the mid-1960s and 70s, and to the development of acid house in the 1980s when people in London were refusing to play it.
Star cities
Britain's 10 most bohemian cities are:
1 Manchester
2= Leicester and London
4 Nottingham
5 Bristol
6 Brighton and Hove
7 Birmingham
8 Coventry
9 Cardiff
10 Edinburgh
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I was interested in all things unconventional and creative before I realised I wasn't exclusively heterosexual, but this discovery inspired me to question my world around me even more. It inspired me to seek out specialty stores (like the bookshop in Darlinghurst), niche information, immerse myself in theory that I would never have taken an interest in otherwise, experiences which were so enriching precisely because they were out of the ordinary. My changing attitude to my sexual orientation made me invent new links, create different kinds of relationships and dream up a new kind of conceptual technology. It made me think, reconsider those thoughts, and transform my world... on a regular basis. It intensified the processes through which I sought to refresh my paradigms, activate my skies to new shades, and gave me endless fodder for my writing, singing and other artistic pursuits.
So it's not surprising to me that gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals and other people who don't conform to the heteronormative patriarchy tend to be more creative and innovative than your average bunch. And it's not surprising that anyone with an interest in subverting conventions and reinventing the rules would want to take part in a culture that is informed by sexual difference. Thank you, Helen Carter, for enlightening people that things are not what they seem - a city with an unglamorous facade can hold a very multi-faceted populace and create a bohemian stronghold, and diverging from the mainstream notion of sexuality provides a useful social service, creating a flourishing social environment where people are encouraged to think outside the box and lead the rest of the world into the kind of changes which will be taken for granted by future generations of conformists. For it is the iconoclaustic individuals who set social trends, reinvent 'the norm' and live, as opposed to exist. Embrace your tendency to... playfully deconstruct. ;o)
Gritty City Wins the Boho Crown
by Helen Carter, from The Guardian
Monday, May 26, 2003
Manchester is the most bohemian place in the UK, according to research by a leading think tank.
Demos has discovered that the world's first industrial city has shed its outdated gritty image to become top of the Boho Britain index. It used three indices to reach its conclusion - the combination of its gay-friendliness, ethnic diversity, and the number of patent applications per head of population.
Manchester has an international reputation for its gay village, around Canal Street, made famous by Channel 4's Queer as Folk. The city will host Europride later this year, which is expected to attract more than one million visitors to the festival in August.
The regeneration of Manchester, since the city centre was virtually rebuilt following the IRA bomb seven years ago, has contributed to a surge in creativity. Last year's successful Commonwealth Games has also brought a new confidence to the city.
Manchester is also rich in architecture, with its neo-gothic town hall and university buildings and its old warehouses, some of which have been converted into loft apartments.
It has a large and thriving student population with three universities - the University of Manchester, Umist, and Manchester Metropolitan University. Next year, Umist and the University of Manchester will merge to create a "super university".
On the edge of the city, Rusholme's neon-lit "curry mile" is like the Las Vegas of the north-west. More than 10,000 people a week eat there.
According to the Boho Britain creative index, the next most creative cities in the UK are Leicester and London.
Richard Florida, who is professor of economic development at Carnegie Mellon University, used the three indicators to measure creativity in his research for Demos. San Francisco was ranked top of a similar exercise carried out on US cities.
He said: "Creative, innovative and entrepreneurial activities tend to flourish in the same kinds of places that attract gays and others outside the norm. When people with varied backgrounds and attitudes collide, economic growth is likely.
"Most centres of technology-based business growth also have high concentrations of gay couples. What I have found is that straight men and women also look for a visible gay community as an indication that a city is likely to be an exciting place to live."
Manchester is also leading the number of patent applications - another indicator of creativity.
Peter Mearns, marketing director of the Northwest Development Agency, said: "Creative industries are hugely important to the regional economy and are already worth £1.7bn. Only 100,000 people are working to generate that wealth, but it is a very good example of how Manchester is leading the region."
Jon Ladd, chief executive of the British Urban Regeneration Association, said: "The change that has occurred in Manchester over the last 20 years has been astounding. The perception that it is a dour place is very wrong."
The creative arts scene in Manchester is also booming. Visitor figures at the Manchester art gallery, which re-opened a year ago after refurbishment, have been much higher than anticipated. Almost 400,000 people have visited it in the last 12 months, against an estimated 250,000 visitors.
Luke Bainbridge, editor of City Life magazine in Manchester, points to the emergence of popular music as a key factor.
"Manchester is a second-tier city like Chicago and Detroit," he said. "It is easy to forget in this jungle of chrome and glass and wooden floors what a depressing place this used to be in the 1970s."
He said that the ethnic diversity of the city had led to the development of Northern Soul in the mid-1960s and 70s, and to the development of acid house in the 1980s when people in London were refusing to play it.
Star cities
Britain's 10 most bohemian cities are:
1 Manchester
2= Leicester and London
4 Nottingham
5 Bristol
6 Brighton and Hove
7 Birmingham
8 Coventry
9 Cardiff
10 Edinburgh
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I was interested in all things unconventional and creative before I realised I wasn't exclusively heterosexual, but this discovery inspired me to question my world around me even more. It inspired me to seek out specialty stores (like the bookshop in Darlinghurst), niche information, immerse myself in theory that I would never have taken an interest in otherwise, experiences which were so enriching precisely because they were out of the ordinary. My changing attitude to my sexual orientation made me invent new links, create different kinds of relationships and dream up a new kind of conceptual technology. It made me think, reconsider those thoughts, and transform my world... on a regular basis. It intensified the processes through which I sought to refresh my paradigms, activate my skies to new shades, and gave me endless fodder for my writing, singing and other artistic pursuits.
Oscar Wilde- playwright, poet, childrens' writer, essayist, novelist and critic
So it's not surprising to me that gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals and other people who don't conform to the heteronormative patriarchy tend to be more creative and innovative than your average bunch. And it's not surprising that anyone with an interest in subverting conventions and reinventing the rules would want to take part in a culture that is informed by sexual difference. Thank you, Helen Carter, for enlightening people that things are not what they seem - a city with an unglamorous facade can hold a very multi-faceted populace and create a bohemian stronghold, and diverging from the mainstream notion of sexuality provides a useful social service, creating a flourishing social environment where people are encouraged to think outside the box and lead the rest of the world into the kind of changes which will be taken for granted by future generations of conformists. For it is the iconoclaustic individuals who set social trends, reinvent 'the norm' and live, as opposed to exist. Embrace your tendency to... playfully deconstruct. ;o)
| 71 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
Subscribe to this blog
Comment by Cibbuano
20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Also, Karl Pilkington is from Manchester.
Comment by postmoderncritic
Postmodern Critic
Daily Inspirations
Relativity Watch
Padsoc
Yeah, I was surprised to learn that Manchester had an innovative cultural and musical scene about a year ago, and discovering this 2003 article just added to the incredulity.
I've seen Karl P on the Ricky Gervais show before, no wonder I couldn't understand his accent, lol. I watched a YouTube interview with Manchester residents on how Manchester differs from London, and had to watch it 2-3 times before I figured out what most people were saying... even then, I couldn't pick up on all the words and had to give up on a few speakers altogether!
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!
It is heartening to read that someone like Helen Carter exists in the shark pool of mainstream journalism.
cheers
fog
Comment by postmoderncritic
Postmodern Critic
Daily Inspirations
Relativity Watch
Padsoc