On a day when the ongoing train wreck that is the Toronto Mayor's office has (finally, completely?) derailed, and most Torontonians are feeling a collective sense of shame, and are considering their wounded pride in their city's institutions, UrbanToronto is happy to be able to present something more uplifting, something with reason behind it, something to beat back a little bit of the choas.

Below, we link to a talk by Richard Florida, given last night before an audience of city builders and luminaries in Desautels Hall at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. The lecture, one of a series presented by the School of Public Policy & Governance in partnership with the Martin Prosperity Institute was entitled Big City, Big Ideas: Why Creativity is the New Economy. 

Richard Florida speaks before an audience at the U of T on November 4, 2013

Florida, likely the world's best known urban theorist, a University of Toronto professor, the head of the Martin Prosperity Institute, and like Jane Jacobs, an American who famously adopted Toronto as their home for its livability and potential for greater success in the future, takes a look at what Toronto has going for it while also considering the hurdles in front of us, and what we need to attend to, to get beyond them. Florida considers his critics from both the right and the left, and has the facts at his fingertips to back up his conclusions that Toronto's governance model is inadequate, and that an emphasis on rewarding creativity would fundamentally change us for the better.

When you've had all you can take from City Hall circus today, take an hour to consider what Florida has to say about the issues that actually should be concerning us, and click this link.