Cities outside of the big coastal tech hubs have characteristics well suited for the high-tech sector.
Roy Bahat, Shauntel Garvey, and Nitin Pachisia explore the startup advantages of places other than Silicon Valley and New York — in particular, the Southern cities of Charlotte, Columbia, and Atlanta.
“The cities we visited represent a new breed of challenger to the geographic dominance of venture capital’s leading centers, who — if they can cover the table stakes — bring advantages the Valley may struggle to capture,” they say.
For one, these cities are racially diverse and also have diverse economies. In addition, people in these cities understand what it takes to overcome adversity, a trait that Bahat, Garvey, and Pachisia say is useful in the venture capital world:
If a startup can make it in Orangeburg, SC, a manufacturing town with a median household income of $29k, it can make it anywhere. Many founders in Silicon Valley have had it so good they can no longer smell money. Startups, unlike many other kinds of projects (like learning to play music), simply require the right timing and dosage of adversity.
To foster these markets, they say investors need to engage beyond financial contributions by participating in local events and mentoring and coaching.
Understanding the culture of and institutions important to a particular place is essential as well, with churches being one example. “More than one founder told us about the role The Creator plays in their startup’s creation. Baptist, AME, and Methodist churches have long undergirded economic development in these cities. Startups harness those trusted networks to find teammates and customers,” they note.
FULL STORY: Placing bets beyond the venture hubs of New York and Silicon Valley
Oregon Passes Exemption to Urban Growth Boundary
Cities have a one-time chance to acquire new land for development in a bid to increase housing supply and affordability.
Where Urban Design Is Headed in 2024
A forecast of likely trends in urban design and architecture.
Savannah: A City of Planning Contrasts
From a human-scales, plaza-anchored grid to suburban sprawl, the oldest planned city in the United States has seen wildly different development patterns.
Washington Tribes Receive Resilience Funding
The 28 grants support projects including relocation efforts as coastal communities face the growing impacts of climate change.
Adaptive Reuse Bills Introduced in California Assembly
The legislation would expand eligibility for economic incentives and let cities loosen regulations to allow for more building conversions.
LA's Top Parks, Ranked
TimeOut just released its list of the top 26 parks in the L.A. area, which is home to some of the best green spaces around.
City of Rochester
Boston Harbor Now
City of Bellevue
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Birmingham, Alabama
City of Laramie, Wyoming
Colorado Department of Local Affairs
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.