Richard Florida chronicles the reasons why high-technology firms are increasingly vacating suburban office parks and "nerdistans" for urban addresses, from London to Los Angeles.
Although the decidedly suburban Silicon Valley remains the world's pre-eminent center of the high-tech industry, start-ups and smaller firms are putting down roots in urban areas such as New York City's Silicon Alley and London's Shoreditch district, in order to lure coveted employees, connect to customers, and spark innovation.
According to Florida, the reasons for this migration are many. For one, "Compared with previous
generations, today's younger techies are less interested in owning cars
and big houses. They prefer to live in central locations, where they can
rent an apartment and use transit or walk or bike to work, and where
there are plenty of nearby options for socializing during nonwork hours."
It's not just young professionals that are attracted to citiesm however. "With all their cultural
and intellectual amenities, urban centers are also the preferred
locales for many leading scientists and engineers."
"An even bigger part of the story is rooted in the changing nature of
technology itself," notes Florida. "A generation or so ago, the fastest-growing high-tech
companies were more like factories," requiring large spaces (most readily and cheaply available in the suburbs) to located their operations. But, "The changing nature of technology-cloud-based applications in
particular-enable new start-ups to succeed more quickly, with smaller
teams and much smaller footprints."
"Cities are central to innovation and new technology," concludes Florida. "They act as giant
petri dishes, where creative types and entrepreneurs rub up against each
other, combining and recombining to spark new ideas, new inventions,
new businesses and new industries."
FULL STORY: The Joys of Urban Tech

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.

Seattle's Plan for Adopting Driverless Cars
Equity, safety, accessibility and affordability are front of mind as the city prepares for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles.

As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.

With Protected Lanes, 460% More People Commute by Bike
For those needing more ammo, more data proving what we already knew is here.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)