eBook

Cities of Knowledge

O'Mara, Margaret

2015,2005,2004

Overview

What is the magic formula for turning a place into a high-tech capital? How can a city or region become a high-tech powerhouse like Silicon Valley? For over half a century, through boom times and bust, business leaders and politicians have tried to become \"the next Silicon Valley,\" but few have succeeded. This book examines why high-tech development became so economically important late in the twentieth century, and why its magic formula of people, jobs, capital, and institutions has been so difficult to replicate. Margaret O'Mara shows that high-tech regions are not simply accidental market creations but \"cities of knowledge\"--planned communities of scientific production that were shaped and subsidized by the original venture capitalist, the Cold War defense complex. At the heart of the story is the American research university, an institution enriched by Cold War spending and actively engaged in economic development. The story of the city of knowledge broadens our understanding of postwar urban history and of the relationship between civil society and the state in late twentieth-century America. It leads us to further redefine the American suburb as being much more than formless \"sprawl,\" and shows how it is in fact the ultimate post-industrial city. Understanding this history and geography is essential to planning for the future of the high-tech economy, and this book is must reading for anyone interested in building the next Silicon Valley.

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Subject: 20Th Century / Amenity / Arms industry / Arthur D. Little / Atlanta metropolitan area / Big Science / Bureaucrat / City Planning & Urban Development / Civil defense / Competitive advantage / Decentralization / Economic development / Economic growth / Economic Policy / Economics / Elitism / Employment / Entrepreneurship / Federal funds / Funding / Georgia Institute of Technology / Herbert Hoover / HISTORY / HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / Implementation / Industrial district / Industrial production / Infrastructure / Institution / Land development / Legislation / Lewis Mumford / Local economic development / Local government / Location / Metropolitan area / Modern / Modern architecture / National Science Foundation / National security / Park / POLITICAL SCIENCE / POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / City Planning & Urban Development / POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Economic Policy / Politician / Politics / Post-industrial society / Power structure / Princeton University Press / Private sector / Public Policy / Real estate development / Redevelopment / Research and development / Research center / Research institutes / Research institutes -- Location -- United States / Research parks / Research parks -- Location -- United States / Research, Industrial / Research, Industrial -- Location -- United States / Residence / Residential area / Rust Belt / Science policy / Shortage / Southern Democrats / Stanford University / State government / Subsidy / Suburb / Suburbanization / Tax / Technology / United States / United States Department of Commerce / University of Pennsylvania / Urban planning / Urban renewal / Urban sprawl / Urban university / Venture capital / War effort / Wealth / West Philadelphia / William H. Whyte / World history / World War II
• ISBN: 140086688X, 9781400866885, 0691117160, 9780691117164, 0691166676, 9780691166674