La Vie Bohème Verte!!!

Presently, Dupont is seen as a modern day bohemian community, through its diverse culture and arts. Richard Lloyd, author of Neo Bohemia: Art and Commerce in the Postindustrial City states that Bohemia is “an urban artists’ district…[which] has only become more frequent in the postmodern period”. Dupont’s urban community is home to many thriving artists, which is seen through the numerous art galleries, music clubs and street performers.

Just the other day, while walking to the Dupont Circle Metro, I had the pleasure of listening to Bach’s Six Suites for the Cello by a local street musician in front of the entrance to the station. As I stood there watching him play away, another man on a bike rode up to him and introduced himself. Five minutes later, Bach had turned into a modern day jam session featuring an electric cello and a banjo.

Present day Bohemians also known as "Neo-Bohemians" claim to be "avatars of counterculture", always creating new movements in art and redefining trends. Bohemians are always at the forefront of a counterculture. This can be seen in many movements throughout history such as the beat and hippie counterculture of the 50s-70s. Presently, a new counterculture is rising, the green movement!

The green movement allows New-Bohemians to make “unprecedented cultural and economic contributions to the broader social system without ever losing their distinctiveness within it”. This means that Neo-Bohemians have been able to use artistic skills to better serve society by taking the green movement and implementing their creative skills and ideas into businesses. Neo-Bohemians have transformed from the liberal hippies and stereotypical artists of our parent's generation into creative workers, who use their education and business skills to lead the green movement. They are part of the creative economy, in which the creative class fills the workforce making a new Bohemian society where culture and the economy come together.

With Obama’s new environmental plans, these creative workers bring together the new demand for environmental reform to the old businesses of today, reshaping our culture and economy into a more eco-friendly society.