In an article that ran in Troy Media detailing examples of regimes that sacrifice artistic freedom (think the imprisonment of two members of Pussy Riot, the "punk feminist protest collective that performs songs criticizing the oil economy, the Roman Catholic Church, and President Vladimir Putin himself"), Toronto received accolades for its place on the Bohemian Index.
The Bohemian Index is a ranking system designed by Richard Florida – a current professor at the University of Toronto and the head of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management – back in 1957.
The system looks at The Rise of the Creative Class (one of his many books exploring creative class and urban development) and ranks cities based on what he calls "high bohemians," people who work in the arts and technology, as well as LGBT people, and their role in economic development.
"Clearly the freedom of artists to be openly critical of the state is an indicator of broader freedoms in society," writes Mike Robinson in the Troy Media piece.
"Canadian academic Richard Florida has argued that high densities of creative class individuals correlate well with urban economic success. His Bohemian Index measures creative class concentrations among North American cities. A high Bohemian Index is associated with economic vibrancy and quality of life. Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal lead the country in this respect."
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Original Source: Troy Media