IDEES, revista de temes contemporanis

Tokyo, Paris, Barcelona

The world revolves around mega-regions, spaces which attract economic and social value and which compete on a global level. Richard Florida, in “The Creative Cities” places Barcelona as the centre of the world’s eleventh mega-region.

One of the important decisions that have to be made in life is often forgotten: where to live, which is as important as a career or future family. Richard Florida, one of the most prestigious theoreticians on globalization, claims that our possibilities of success and happiness will depend on where we live.

According to this American sociologist, the world is defined by mega-regions. These are economic units which concentrate production and attract capacity to innovate. The author of The Creative Cities, the book now published in Catalan by the Centre d’Estudis de Temes Contemporanis, classifies the fifty most important mega-regions. Led by Tokyo, it places Barcelona and its area of influence (from Valencia to Lyons) as the world’s eleventh most important mega-region.

These units have to compete among themselves to attract talent. Florida believes that Barcelona has an enviable starting point, with quality of life as its main trump card.