Harvard economics professor and New York Times guest columnist Edward L. Glaeser uses the word "smart" 10 times in his column today about how Seattle is the shiznit.
Glaeser, also the author of Triumph of the City, a book about how the modern city is just a swell idea, sees Seattle as a model of the future--one that shows the "benefits of concentrating smart people in dense cities."
As the 2010 Census rolls out, much of the attention of news organizations is focused on the continuing growth of Texas and Florida, but there is much to be learned from the less extreme, but still significant, population growth in less sunny places, like Seattle.
He recounts how Jet City evolved through the ages, from timber to airplanes to retail and technology. He praises the dense architecture for "enabl(ing) ideas to flow freely" and the big corporations for "empowering employees." He notes that college-degree holders are a majority in the city, and personal income and personal productivity are higher than the national average.
He thinks it's all so very smart:
A great paradox of our age is that despite the declining cost of connecting across space, more people are clustering together in cities. The explanation of that strange fact is that globalization and technological change have increased the returns on being smart, and humans get smart by being around other smart people.
Dense, smart cities like Seattle succeed by attracting smart people who educate and employ one another.
By the end of the piece, Glaeser's expertly performed blowjob of Seattle's collective intellect is quite satisfying. Indeed, I may read it again after a nap and a sandwich.