New York’s growth must get creative: We must learn from places like London and Vegas to harness creativity for economic growth

It is undeniable that New York City is world-renowned for its influence on the arts and a beacon of creativity. The creative economy — which spans the performing arts, fashion, gaming, advertising, design, and more — is both a cultural necessity and integral to New York City’s economic recovery. But in recent years, we’ve fallen behind cities like London and Las Vegas in channeling a culture of creativity and innovation into economic growth.

Prior to the pandemic, a city-led report had the creative sector accounting for 13%, about $110 billion, of the city’s total economic output, with 12% of all creative industry jobs located in New York City — a stark contrast to the less than 3% of all jobs nationally. According to the Creative Business Network, the creative economy is expected to grow up to 40% globally by 2030. As our country and New York’s economy continue to evolve following the pandemic, New York City needs organized systemic plans now that will maximize economic opportunity and job creation in this high-growth potential industry.

New York is full of creative entrepreneurs and businesses, so why is this industry left fending for itself here while the cities we compete with around the world are seizing the opportunity? I have engaged with creative industry leaders in several international cities and built an immersive arts, entertainment, and events district, AREA15, in Las Vegas, which opened three years ago not far from the famous Las Vegas Strip. Cities like London have committed to a deliberate, long-term, comprehensive approach to building their creative economy. Why isn’t New York leading the way?

To harness the full potential of the creative economy, we must make investments and prioritize policies that create more opportunities for individuals, small businesses, and startups to thrive. Taking a page from London’s creative strategy, New York could look at its policies on integrating culture into major infrastructure projects or developing Creative Enterprise Zones, clusters of secure, permanent, and affordable spaces for creative production. New York City is ripe with creative spaces and always has been, but now there needs to be more investment behind it.

New York also needs to work with the private sector to build its creative economy strategy. In the Culture for all Londoners landmark plan, the mayor introduced policy ideas like funding job and training placement initiatives within fashion industries, and increasing creative business engagement with London & Partners, the city’s tourism agency.

It’s not enough to just recognize the importance of the creative economy. Collaboration is essential in creative spaces, and New York City must set in motion an environment where ideas can be tested, shared, and explored. Across the country, cities are working together to develop special advisory committees comprised of city staff, local community leaders, and members of the artist community that are dubbed Arts Task Forces. Globally, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development built a Creative Economy Network, a platform for creatives worldwide to share insight and collaborate.

The creative sector is an essential part of generating economic opportunity in what is likely to be a challenging economic environment over the next few years. We’ve seen support for the creative sector starting to increase, but it’s far from what is needed. Recently, AREA15 announced that Universal Parks & Resorts will anchor the AREA15 District in Las Vegas, expanding this already impactful creative experience. This partnership with Universal is just one example of how businesses rooted in creativity and offering innovative experiences are poised for growth.

New York has already done some work to support its creative sector, like the state’s first-ever $25 million digital game development tax credit program. This is the kind of economic policy that will keep New York the creative capital of the world. We should also look closely at policies that create portable workplace benefits and protections, strengthen training programs, expand job pipelines, and update zoning regulations to allow for more flexibility for creative spaces.

New York is well-positioned based on its existing reputation and wealth of talent to capture this kind of growth. Though it won’t look the same as something like AREA15, there is no limit to what could be envisioned and created in New York.

We need to stimulate a creative ecosystem where we support all-in partnerships between the public and private sectors and build platforms to accelerate business growth across the creative industry and create more jobs. This isn’t up for debate — the creative economy is a crucial piece of New York City’s legacy and future.

Fisher is a partner at Fisher Brothers, CEO of AREA15, and co-chair of New York City’s Regional Economic Development Council.