Came across an interesting site called Hub Culture. It touts itself as
Hub Culture is a place where the world’s progressive urban people integrate to elevate.
They did a survey and announced the hippest coolest cities acting as hubs to Culture, Art, et al.
The Center of the Universe
It’s 2007, and the look and feel of the decade is in full swing. The idea behind the hub zeitgeist ranking is that at certain times in certain places, there is a veritable “center of the universe” a place where innovation, change and vibe combine to create the place of the moment. Earlier we looked at this from a historical perspective as we prepared our first ranking of hubs and their impact on hub culture. Yes, its arbitrary, and no its not scientific, but it does reflect a combination of influences on a global basis. It does not reflect ultimate power or coolness, but some combination that reflects “right now” better than anywhere. Presenting the 2007 Hub Zeitgeist List:
Hub Culture’s 2007 Zeitgeist Ranking
1. Los Angeles
2. Berlin
3. Mumbai
The center of global attention seems to have shifted off China and onto India, and Mumbai (or as we should say outside, Bombay) is the hot spot in India. Its mix of Bollywood and technology lend well to the Youtube era, and the rich, infectious Indian attitude is becoming a global cultural force. The clubbing in Mumbai continues to improve, but its the people who make it – the sense of optimism here dominates.
Surprisingly my current base New York comes in at a lowly 9. However my neighborhood….Brooklyn gets a special mention
9. New York
The big apple has its stride back, but it has been so sanitized that the cultural revival of the city feels as if it has been outsourced to Brooklyn. But Brooklyn is still part of New York, and New York still dominates in advertising, finance and international business. This hub of hubs seems to be following the leader – in architecture, in culture, and in innovation, but it is still completely critical for processing other advances into the mainstream, and as the city moves farther from its 911 nightmare, sprouts of change are seen… from the revival of the speakeasy to a sudden interest in poetry and drama to the new dominance of the Lower East Side over Meatpacking. One hopes that NYC can survive its own mallification.
Stop by here to read the entire list.
