Feb. 2--HAMPTON -- In their pursuit of economic growth, the nation's cities should be doing much more to protect their blue-collar jobs rather than courting hip young people in search of culture, an urban analyst told a gathering of the region's business leaders.

The prospects for growth in Hampton Roads are particularly bright because it has a vibrant port, something that's been a key source of economic activity for Los Angeles, said Joel Kotkin, an author and Los Angeles resident.

"Everybody pays attention to the idiocy of movie stars, but it's the longshoremen in the port that drive the economy" of Los Angeles, Kotkin told 285 people at the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance's annual luncheon.

In some of the nation's "superstar" cities like Boston and San Francisco, the population has been stagnating or declining because these cities no longer provide the opportunities for advancement that lower-income and moderate-income people are seeking, Kotkin said at the Hampton Marina Hotel.

In some localities, he said, that appears to be intentional.

"There's this notion that if we could get rid of regular people, our cities would be great," he said.

The hot spots of growth in recent years have been cities like Phoenix, Charlotte and Houston, in part, because they have much more affordable housing than larger, flashier cities such as Boston, New York and San Francisco, he said.

Kotkin, senior fellow at the New America Foundation and author of "The City: A Global History ", published in 2006, has been a particularly harsh critic of municipal leaders who attempt to reinvigorate their cities by promoting night spots, condos and arts festivals for members of the "creative class..."

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