You may find yourself asking, “What the hell is the creative class?” You may find yourself asking, “Aren’t I in a class all my own?” For answers to both of these questions and much, much more, we must turn back into the pages of Tacoma’s recent past.



Three years ago the Tacoma Chamber of Commerce hired a man named Richard Florida — for more money than you want to know about — to come and tell us a lot of things that may be quite obvious to anyone not stuck behind a desk running Tacoma commerce. Florida’s shtick is stuck in the muddy philosophy that the most successful cities of the future will be the cities that attract the freshest batches of a new type of blood. This post-postmodern workforce will more than likely be unsatisfied with the systems, infrastructure and values of the modern meta-narrative (duh). Florida asserts that this necessary addition to the job pool and population of any progressive city worthy of the title won’t be attracted to places that don’t nurture, request and value creative thinking and freedom to find new ways of doing things. He ever so lovingly dubbed this group of people the creative class and set about appointing all sorts of task forces within Tacoma to discover our creative potential.



Dork-a-tron, right?



At first glance, Florida needs to let his hair grow out a little; however, cut through the forest of cliché and we encounter a preposterous shining tree of branchy truth. Dorky as it sounds, Florida was right about the new style, and he’s right about the cold fact that any city is dead in the water that cannot foster creativity and innovation. While they may serve the machine with all of the creative juices it needs to stay current, just getting creative people to move into our crappy condos and to work for our corporations isn’t  enough. Now, fast forward three years. It is today. As you are reading this fine rag, Tacoma is that much more into its “revitalization,” and the creative class is on the march. I meet new people on a regular basis who just felt the need to end up in Tacoma after college. Four new galleries, an independent record label, six new bars, a handful of coffee shops, whispers of secret venues, and my trips to Seattle have become less and less frequent. The Tacoma School of the Arts is running strong, and the museums are starting to catch on. Creativity is cool. Small business is cool. “Just think … “ is the new black. Ladies and gentlemen, we are the creative class.



But don’t drink too fast. Creativity gains its purpose in creation, and we have made wonderful things for ourselves. As the dawn of the Tacoma creative class rises over the cloud-capped peaks of Mount Rainer, we first must consider that we are up far too early, and we next must consider what sort of city we wish to create together. We are filling the city with culture, vibrancy, human connection, art, and people potential — just like Florida predicted we would.  We are making Tacoma a great place to live and a great place to move to, but unless we focus our creativity outside our affinity groups and individual projects and begin to imagine the community as a whole, Tacoma may not be a great place to stay for very long.



There are many buzzwords that indicate threats to a prosperous urban neighborhood. Big 14-letter words such as gentrification  represent a visceral threat during revitalization such as this, but gentrification is not the only roadblock on our path to a culturally vibrant, sustainable community that stands the test of its own growth and popularity. Much like the local band that stumbles on a hit, sometimes your talent can get you where your character can’t hold you. Suddenly Jonny Q. lead singer thinks he’s capable of sustaining an 8-ball-a-day habit, and your drummer gets a string of STDs.



Pollution, recreational places, walking friendly, parking, affordable housing, transportation, crime, homelessness, sprawl, Razor scooters, a Megadeth reunion tour — all of these things or the lack thereof are potential detriments to the proper growth of our beloved city, and all of them are current problems that the men and women we are paying to captain this pirate ship of a town seem completely overwhelmed by.  Shouldn’t an entire class of creative people have something to say about the destiny of the city they claim to love?  Shouldn’t we already be implementing creative positive action toward a better life for ourselves and the people around us? Has the American dream worked on us that well? All we can think of is what is within our own yard, our own taxable boundaries, and our own immediate gratification. We are easy to control because our energy is directed toward bettering our own isolated lives; we are disconnected  and disassociated pilots of our very own lonely destinies.



Every day the city of Tacoma is making decisions that will affect the quality of life of her citizens. How about another mall in the north end? Why not build a floating airport on Commencement Bay? Couple of Super Wal-Marts downtown couldn’t hurt. Perhaps more realistically: How about we sell all of the land to people from out of town who build the same cheap-ass, Euro-box condo buildings over and over painted slightly different colors of lame?



We perhaps stand to lose control of a whole lot of soul unless we create some better questions to ask.



Questions such as: “How do I get involved?”; “Does the city really give a shit what I think?”; and “What kind of city can I imagine loving to live in?” are a good start. But how about: “What does quality of life mean for my whole neighborhood?; “How can I combine my creative power with others?”; and “What change would make us all come up at once?” This sort of thinking outside of our own yards is the start to a whole lot of grassroots power that has saved and improved places such as Portland, Wallingford, Freemont, and Austin.



Involvement, surprisingly, starts right next door. At the most basic level, connecting with the people around you is the fastest track to making positive change in more than just your patio furniture.



And for the anti-established, yes the city cares what her citizens think. We pay her bills. And while some things never change, I know there are some good eggs on the lookout in City Hall. Don’t wait to organize your voice, because like anything, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and big money from out of town is louder than the brakes on the Link.

The potential of an entire class of little creators is virtually limitless. The proof is in the vibrancy of our culture and our identity as a place to love. Members of the creative class should be inspiring each other to paint the canvas of this city in bright, meaningful tones. Tacoma’s arts culture needs to get involved in the sculpting of a livable place — not just a place where people live. We have the power to dream of new avenues and alternatives, and thanks to Florida, more than others, the powers that be are waiting to hear our beautiful ideas. Conversely, on a local level, it doesn’t take an e-mail campaign to Tacoma City Manager Eric Anderson to start a neighborhood watch, clean up the park, or plant a few trees. Beyond the Sesame Street stuff, who can invent a truly new way of urban life?



There are more talented and creative people in this city than anywhere else I have ever lived. Tacoma should be known for its radically diverse, thriving neighborhoods,  conceived with the utmost of care for the whole.

We all want a great place to live, and the potential to create it is right here under our noses. I suppose there is always the alternative that could be called the destructive class, but the consequences of burning down the mall aren’t as attractive as creating a way for people to spend more time downtown, and the smoke would be bad for the environment — kind of.



What are the real issues? For information about the current state of Tacoma, there are lots of conversations happening online at locally run sites such as weeklyvolcanospew.com, exit133.com, in-tacoma.net, and feedtacoma.com, as well as groups forming downtown including Local Life, the Knights of Pythia, The Downtown Merchants Group, and the Free Tacoma Project. These conversations are the beginning of locally run urban development as people begin to connect with each other on issues that affect the quality of life in a local context.

Want to participate this week?

If you are looking to get together with some people interested in the development of Tacoma this coming week just so happens to house three out of five nights of awesome events for building community where you can meet your creative contemporaries and let your voice be heard. Starting Tuesday, March 25, 6-8 p.m. "Go Local or Die" at Veritas Mortgage Group (next to Tully's at 762 Broadway), is what Local Life Tacoma is calling a "charrette to resuscitate community and cultural life in downtown Tacoma." Then Wednesday, March 26, 7:30-9:30 the 100th Monkey arts community event at the First Congregational Church (corner of J and Division) has a stage, a dance floor and a "social relaxing" room where you can mingle with the creative class while wearing a name tag. Thursday, March 27, at 7 p.m., Julie Bennett hosts Coffee and Rhetoric, at Cutters Point (1937 Pacific Ave. next to urbanXchange). This month’s Coffee and Rhetoric topic: The benefits of a non-profit venue for the arts community.



If that’s not enough community for you, then Saturday, March 29, 2-5 p.m. go learn stained glass basics ($15 members $19 non-members) at Linda Danforth's Tacoma Art Place. RSVP to: info@TacomaArtPlace.org. Classes fill up fast. For directions and other classes visit www. TacomaArtPlace.org.

Down the road

James Howard Kunstler is coming to Tacoma April 23. Kunstler is very well known in the circles of folks who care about urban planning and livable cities. His books include Geography of Nowhere and The Long Emergency. The lecture will be held at Theatre on the Square in downtown Tacoma. For more information, go to www.golocaltacoma.com.