The positive correlation between income inequality and creative class measures is by now well known, but possibly less well understood. This panel seeks to better understand that relationship using multiple methods in a variety of settings. Laura Crommelin uses qualitative methods to explore the relationship between reimaging projects and creative class theory in two post-industrial cities in the U.S. and Australia; Melanie Fasche looks at the valuation process of contemporary visual art and reveals why economic rewards are unequally distributed within and across cities; Matthew Kaliner uses quantitative analysis of occupations across a metropolitan area to investigate the subjective nature of artistic identity and the community and household conditions that facilitate or hinder the expression of that identity; Colby King reviews creative class literature with a special focus the issue of income inequality; and Ric Kolenda grapples with the dynamic relationship between creative class metrics and both income inequality and intergenerational economic mobility.
Can creative cities be just cities? Melanie Fasche, University of Toronto
Metropolitan structure and the expression of artistic identity Matthew Kaliner, Harvard University
Reviewing the Creative Class Theory: Moving Towards Synthesis and Focusing on Inequality Colby King, Bridgewater State University
Do Creative Economies Increase Economic Opportunities? Ric Kolenda, Appalachian State University