Richard Florida

Richard L. Florida (born 1957) is an American urban studies theorist and writer best known for his seminal description of the creative class. He focuses on economic and social theory as a distinguished professor at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management and School of Cities. He was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University from 1987 to 2004 before teaching at George Mason University from 2004 to 2007 and subsequently moving to the University of Toronto.

Florida's 2002 book, The Rise of the Creative Class, is recognized as articulating the creative class theory, which underpins his strategy consulting as founder of the Creative Class Group. He also previously served as a senior editor of The Atlantic, where he cofounded CityLab, a news website now owned by Bloomberg. Since 2024, he has worked as a visiting professor to the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University.