The Revitalist

Fast Company has published their list of Fast Cities 2007. What is a Fast City?

"In other words, there are winners in this battle for the future. We call them Fast Cities. They are cauldrons of creativity where the most important ideas and the organizations of tomorrow are centered. They attract the best and brightest. They are great places to work and live."

Fast Company used Richard Florida-collaborator Kevin Stolarick's numbers, the CEOs for Cities' CityVitals survey from Impresa, Inc., sustainability data from SustainLane, and other info from the Institute for the Future. The rankings called out particular cities in nine different categories: Creative-Class Meccas, Green Leaders, Culture Centers, Global Villages, High-Tech Hot Spots, Unexpected Oases, R&D Clusters, Urban Innovators, and Startup Hubs.

So the question is: how does Boston rank? Well, it is listed as one of the Cities on the Verge in the R&D Clusters section. I'm sure that's not where the civic leaders would prefer, but it's hard not to notice the affordability issues that are spurring young professionals to seek other locations. Still, there is enough activity going on to put us on the map, and at least we're not one of the Slow Cities.