On May 1 & 2, 2003, just over 100 creative leaders convened in Memphis, Tennessee, to draft a guiding report for building creative cities. Bolz Center Director Andrew Taylor was selected as one of this "Creative 100," and brought the thoughts, experiences, and insights of the Bolz Center for Arts Administration to the convening.

The meeting was hosted to explore options and ideas for cities that want to compete for the "Creative Class" -- young, mobile professionals -- whose presence, or lack thereof, is helping to determine the future of American cities.

The event built upon the work of Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class (see http://www.creativeclass.org/), who also participated in the event. Florida is the Heinz Professor of Economic Development at Carnegie Mellon, where he also heads the Software Industry Center. He has been a visiting professor at MIT and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. He is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.

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