Metropolis vs noopolis: which one is more creative

Any metropolis has a spoiled ecology, sound loads, traffic jams, non-stop communication, movement, and stress. This is not always bad: a big city motivates people to achieve goals. But too much stress causes consequences: sometimes a metropolis badly affects productivity and creativity.
We decided to figure out exactly how your potential is connected with the rhythm of a big city and what solution will help develop it.
Anton Avramenko is a specialist on the topic. He’s an expert in the field of creative industries formation.

Why do you need to boost your creativity

Many scientists call the period we live in the creative era. In a very short and simplified way, here's how we got here:

At first, the economy was agrarian. During this time, people were trying to solve the problem of hunger and the land was the main source of all resources.
Then it was replaced by an industrial economy. That’s when the main sources of capital were built.
Now we live in a new reality. The labor is automated, capital depreciates, and creativity becomes the main engine of progress.

The thought is confirmed by the concept of the creative class, which was created by the American economist and sociologist Richard Florida. He called creativity a new factor of production and a locomotive. Without it, the development of society is impossible.

What kind of environment do we need to stay creative

To develop creativity, you don’t need to completely isolate yourself from stress and hide in a bubble. Otherwise, you will relax too much and say goodbye to productivity. You just need to get away from unhealthy productivity caused by metrapolises by megacities.

Richard Florida has come up with a simple three-T formula: technology, talent, and tolerance. That is, all you need to maintain life balance is to get to places where these factors exist.

He identifies three environments that stimulate creativeness:

1. City centers. A 15-minute distance from all the most important things, technology, and an interesting work environment for you.
2. So-called “Meccas for nerds”. Silicon Valley with its IT movement is a classic example. It seems to be an ordinary suburb, but thanks to the huge concentration of technologies and talents, synergy is obtained, people get the energy from the community, they learn, and they want to develop.
3. Natural oases or valhallas. These spaces are aimed at restoring life balance due to their proximity to nature.

And we’ve added the fourth one
4. Noopolises. If you do not want to move to a conditional uninhabited island, but at the same time you want to maintain a certain balance between nature and the metropolis, then this is an option for you.

What is a noopolis and why do people go there to regain their creativity

These are suburban areas. They are created to recover your nerves damaged by the metropolis. And no, we’re not talking about remote villages of 20-40 houses in the middle of nothing.

Usually, noopolises consist of 400-1000 houses and are located next to the metropolis, so that you can get to your favorite restaurant without traffic jams. They allow you to move closer to nature while maintaining the usual standard of living.

Features of noopolises:

The environment is better. They combine neighborhoods both with metropolitan areas and nature. It calms the nerves. Clean air makes it easier to breathe, there is a reason and a place to run in the morning. You can also invite friends to barbecues, explore the surroundings, ride a bike, and have picnics in the forest.
There is more space and less population density. The human psychology of a complex primate is aimed at life in small groups of 20–100 individuals. But civilization has developed in such a way that millions of people are concentrated in one place. Living in a crowd is stressful. In noopolises, this is not a problem, the average level of self-development and results achieved among residents is higher.
It's as interesting as the city. Noopolises have shopping centers, restaurants, bars, clubs, concerts, and various thematic events.
It's as convenient as the city. Let's say if a pipe breaks, a plumber will arrive in a couple of minutes. If you want your favorite Chinese food, delivery will bring it without any problems. Getting to the city is no problem, there are no exhausting traffic jams. If you work remotely, then noopolis can completely replace a big city with the advantages that you are used to.
It has a motivating community. People move to noopolises mindfully: to unload, recharge, calm down, improve their productivity, and develop creativity. Therefore, you’ll have good neighbors.
It's cheaper than the metropolis. Yes, in a big city you can buy a relatively inexpensive apartment on the outskirts. But there is a high probability it’s next to a factory, an industrial zone, a 12-lane highway, and other joys of a metropolis. But maintaining the standard of living that a noopolis can provide is much more expensive in a metropolis.