Richard Florida: Who's Your City

Three crucial economic ingredients – talent, innovation, and creativity – are not distributed evenly across today's global economy. They concentrate in specific locations. The real source of economic growth comes from the clustering and concentration of talented and productive people. New ideas are generated and our productivity increases when we locate close to one another in cities and regions. The clustering force makes each of us more productive, which in turn makes the places we inhabit much more productive, generating great increases in output and wealth.

Because of this clustering force, a new constellation of cities and surrounding regions – not just in the United States, but in Europe and Asia – have turned into new engines of economic growth. Cities and their metropolitan corridors are morphing into new "megaregions," and magnets for great jobs and great companies alike.

In these special adapted excerpts from Richard Florida's new book, "Who's Your City?," the author profiles 10 such megaregions in the U.S.; explains the factors and data that distinguishes each; shows how to find a city with ideal business and career opportunities; and, in an exclusive Q&A, explains why these 10 megaregions will thrive during the current recession. Also: Check out the book's special image gallery, showing top megaregions in the U.S., Europe, and Asia, as well as maps that show where specific personality types are clustered around the country.