Seattle - San Francisco: smartest cities

America's smartest cities - Aug. 31, 2006: "Richard Florida, who developed the creative-class concept (the efficacy of which remains controversial), advises that attracting these groups pays off better for cities than building large-scale industrial developments or municipal building projects.

Simply put, smart people like to live in cool places, and cities are trying to oblige."...

..."Raleigh, N.C., with its amalgam of great research universities and high-tech companies, tied San Francisco for second place for holders of bachelor's degrees and was seventh for advanced degrees, with 16.7 percent of residents holding one."...

..."San Francisco has many of these same strengths, and, like New York, it is a culturally and ethnically diverse city that welcomes people with alternative lifestyles, the so-called creative class. This group is made up of artists, musicians and writers and includes gay men and "bohemian" types."...