Een portret van vestiging

This thesis has investigated the sustainability of the 'creative class-theory' of Florida in the Netherlands. As a result of the popularity of Florida’s theory, policy makers in the Netherlands want to attract the creative class to promote urban growth. This research has focused on the most artistic group of the creative class, the painters. The results of 98 surveys and 11 interviews show that painters, unlike the creative class, do not concentrate in creative cities. Painters live as often in creative cities as in other places in the countryside. In addition, not all factors of Florida offer an explanation for the settlement of painters. Based on these results, Florida's theory cannot be applied to all painters in the Netherlands. Policy makers should find another way to provide urban growth or should at least distinguish different groups with different location preferences within the creative class.