The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity

"The Great Reset" is the sociologist and urban studies writer Richard Florida's take on recovering from today's so-called Great Recession. Briefly summarized, this is a hopeful look at periods of economic turmoil and recovery, with the Long Depression of the 1870's and the Great Depression of the 1930's being case studies, as incubators of technological and management creativity and as facilitators of necessary changes in economic structures. The book is accessible, easy, and for the most part compelling reading, occasionally provocative, an interesting source of factoids, and as a generalized broad history of recovery from the bottoms of economic cycles it's a useful template. The book is tinged with an underlying idealism that at times is worthy of a hustling consultant or a spirited motivational speaker. While not having read any of Florida's previous books, reviews and references read in the past lead me to see The Great Reset as the latest extension of his ongoing thesis and academic exploration, that of looking at demographic patterns of the "creative class" and extrapolating future trends and urban developments. Florida's view as presented here is one of long term optimism and new opportunities, but for the medium term it does not whitewash any of the current challenges. Looking at those challenges he writes, "Results, however, take time. If the past is any guide, they are complex processes that unfold over two or three generations". So as optimistic and hopeful as his overall perspective is, for many today, such as the 45 year old laid off manufacturing worker, 18 year old high school graduate ready to work hard, 22 year old college graduate ready to engage with the world, or 65 year old retirees hoping that their assets will grow to match their later needs, his thesis for the most part provides limited hope for the positive outcomes that would have reasonably been expected in the prior three decades. The gap between the bottom of the cycle and his regenerative and robust future will have many victims. Bluntly put, he says "You don't need to strain too hard to see the financial crisis as the death knell for a debt-ridden, overconsuming, underproducing American empire". With discussions of economic megaregions, the demise of the "old suburban way of life", retraining of workers, the need for mobility and extensive relocation unencumbered by underwater homes, and infrastructure necessities like a commitment to high speed rail, Florida relentlessly looks forward. He writes, "The whole approach of throwing billions of public dollars at the old economy is shortsighted, aimed at restoring the collective comfort level. Government spending can't be the solution long term". Those are sound observations that even knee jerk conservatives would like to hear, but at the same time Florida confronts our division of wealth societal challenge as he says, "Cheap mortgages, cheap car leases, and the use of homes as veritable ATMs created ficti

The one thing to gain from this book is understanding. We don't often take a step back from our tasks to look at the big picture of what the 2008 financial crisis has done to us after disturbing our lifestyles and sense of normality. Change is happening, and we all know that in order to survive after this crisis, we must find a way to move on from its results, just like how the Americans did following the Great Depression. To survive, we adapt, and the author of this book provides a very clear outline of the changes that will occur and affect the way we live and work as a society. I was primarily interested in this book because of my hazy post-graduate plans. As a college student set to graduate next year, I needed to know where to find economic opportunities, and I also needed to rid myself of the doom and gloom that came with my uncertainty of the future. The author doesn't provide a quick fix idea or a solution to anything specific nor does he involve any outrageous or unrealistic theories. He speaks of trends, uses facts and history, and provides you with a good framework of what is happening in the world and what is bound to happen as we respond to the changes that come with the 2008 crisis. With less than 200 pages of content, you gain just enough ideas and information without the repetitiveness, and overall, it is a very satisfying read. I borrowed a copy from the library, but I would not mind keeping a copy for myself. The information is valuable, and I would probably want to refer to it a couple years from now.

PROS: * Easy-to-read writing style that also communicates a lot of information. * Presents historical information and research that helps give a sense of the big picture and justify the theses of the book. * Covers a lot of ground and speaks to people's interests. * Provides a lot of useful insights. * Stays positive without pulling punches. CONS: * Covers so many broad topics depth is occasionally missing. * The broadness of topics makes the usefulness of information unpredictable from person to person. SUMMARY: A must-read book on the future of the global economy after the crash of the late 2000's. Before I read this book, I hadn't read any of Richard Florida's other works for two reasons. First, his basic ideas seemed to be ones I pretty much agreed with in general, and secondly I got a lot out of his blog and other writing. However, come the Great Recession, and seeing a lot changes on the horizon, I felt The Great Reset was definitely worth a read. The Great Reset is about After the Great Recession. Florida isn't talking recovery (which I approve of), but instead of the changes that are coming in the wake of the Great Recession. He looks at how we lived and will live, how we worked and will work, what changes are coming, and what changes will be needed. If that sounds a bit heavy, the book actually is extremely readable. You don't need to be an economist or sociologist to get anything out of it, you just need to pay attention. Florida's basic theory is that economies go through Resets - periods where things break down and re-organize because of system failure and systems that don't keep up with changes. Our Great Recession, the Great Depression, and the Depression of 1870/Long Depression, are all examples of Resets. So, by looking at the past, he says, we can get some idea of what we face in the future. Florida goes over these and other Resets in some detail, pointing out why problems happened, but also how they heradled change, often radical change, in employment, government, and economics. In many cases he notes the resets, as painful as they are, often lead to new booms and prosperity. However, one has to be aware of the changes that are coming in order to benefit. Having establishes his idea of Resets, he then goes and looks at how things changed after these periods. The rise of industrialization, shifts away from agriculture, changes in industry, etc. are discussed, and helps bring out his point that these resets mean massive change. It's actually amazing when one looks back on some 140 years and realizes just how much change has happened. Finally, having looked at historical Resets, Florida asks what happens after the one we're living through now - and what we have to face. A quick summary: * Megaregions are the future - areas like Silicon Valley, Greater Toronto Area, Washington-Baltimore-Boston, etc. The future, to him, are highly integrated areas - and mostly areas that are already established. * The future

This is an excellent follow up to Richard Florida (RF) first two seminal books. In the first The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life in 2003, he introduced the concept of the Creative Class. The greater the % of the creative class within a region, the more prosperous its economy. In the second book Who's Your City?: How the Creative Economy Is Making Where to Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life in 2008, he introduced the concept of "megaregions" such as the New York, Boston, Washington DC corridor. Those regions have a high concentration of the creative class types. He rebutted The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century theory and stated the world is increasingly spikier as the creative talent is clustering in just the megaregions. Here, RF leverages his concepts of the Creative Class and megaregions to develop an outlook for major cities. He states that the financial crisis will actually strengthen the two worldwide leading financial centers: London and New York. Historically, leading financial centers have lasted much longer than their nations' economic supremacy. London remains the preeminent financial center even though the U.K. has not been a dominant economy since before WWII. London and NY will rebound better than the second tier of financial centers such as Tokyo, Frankfurt, and Singapore. Leading financial centers have a widely diversified Creative Class and economies. They are strong in key postindustrial fields including the arts and culture. Thus, they remain magnets for creative types. RF is upbeat about cities at the intersection of Government and capitalism. They are capitals such as Washington DC. They benefited from the financial crisis because the Government now controls a greater percentage of the economy. With more economic power, RF indicates that Washington DC has the most educated labor force in the U.S. and is also a thriving high tech center second nationwide only to San Jose. College towns are also doing well as they have a high % of creative types. Their local employment is boosted by two thriving sectors: education and health care (university hospitals, med schools, and research). Often, college towns are also hi tech and start ups centers. RF does not have much hope for Detroit. Detroit has experienced a depression for decades. The average home price in Detroit is lower than the average price of a new car. Its unemployment rate is 27%. But, in October 2009 Mayor Dave Bing stated it is closer to 50% if you count the discouraged workers not counted. Detroit has 62,000 vacant lots and buildings. Total vacant land is almost the size of Boston. Detroit is a post apocalyptic town. Its main hope is to keep on shrinking by abandoning vacant urban space back to nature. Wild life is getting a stronghold in such abandoned areas. RF is also concerned about many formerly thriving Sunbelt cities. Those

In the first chapter, Richard Florida explains that peaks and valleys are part of the lifecycle of any society as "obsolete and dysfunctional systems and practices" collapse, replaced by "the seeds of innovation and invention, of creativity and entrepreneurship." The First Great Reset occurred in the 1870s, the Second in the 1930s, and a Third is now developing. "The promise of the current Reset is the opportunity for a life made better not by ownership of real estate, appliances, cars, and all manner of material goods, but of greater flexibility and lower levels of debt, of more time with family and friends, greater promise of personal development, and access to more and better experiences. All organisms and all systems experience the cycles of life, death, and rebirth." Literally, a reset means "to set again or renew" (Webster), "to set again or differently" (Oxford English Dictionary). As Florida makes crystal clear, however, a Reset is not an invitation to reload with the same "ammunition" (i.e. values, mindset, perspectives, strategies, and tactics) because, more often than not, that "ammunition" of the status quo helps to explain the emergence of a Great Reset in response to its inadequacies and thus is among its causes. This is precisely what Florida has in mind when observing that economic systems "do not exist in the abstract; they are embedded within the geographic fabric of the society - the way land is used, the locations of homes and businesses, the infrastructure that ties people, places, and commerce together. These factors combine to shape production, consumption, and innovation, and as they change, so do the basic engines of the economy. A reconfiguration of this economic landscape is the real distinguishing characteristic of a Great Reset." Note: Eric Drexler has a great deal to say about these and other issues in Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology (1987) as does Joel Mokyr in The Lever of Riches: Technological Creativity and Economic Progress (1992) and then in The Gifts of Athena: Historical Origins of the Knowledge Economy (2004). Presumably Florida shares my high regard for these three books. Florida provides a wealth of information and analysis of the First and Great Resets, especially in terms of their impact on the economic landscape, first in the 1870s and then in the 1930s. For example, what was then characterized as "the war of currents" (i.e. competition between Edison and Westinghouse) revealed which system (alternate or direct current) was more efficient and would benefit the public most. "In that effort we can see a crystal-clear example of innovation progressing toward infrastructure that could become the foundation of a Great Reset." It did. Consider also led to great systems innovations in locations such as Edison's lab in New Jersey and clusters of innovation in Pittsburgh and Cleveland. There were also major advances in transportation infrastructure. Florida also notes other large-scale