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I find it so strange that experts center their goals around how to fit as many people as possible into these cities, rather than figuring out how to scale what

I find it so strange that experts center their goals around how to fit as many people as possible into these cities, rather than figuring out how to scale what makes places like the Bay Area desirable out to other regions...

davidw 10y ago
It's possible to do both. It's a lot easier to figure out how to allow people to live in cities though, because the technology has existed for 100's of years. Figuring out how to "replicate Silicon Valley" is something everyone would love to do, but very few places have come close.
- jdmichal 10y ago
  Silicon Valley as a phenomenon is about network effects, so of course it's extremely difficult to reproduce. How do you reproduce the mid-century hacker culture leading to technical giants leading to VC money attraction leading to startup culture? VC money moving to the Midwest will maybe change where future startups happen, but there's still a lot of networking power centralized to Silicon Valley that will take time to match. And in the meantime, those other places are at a disadvantage in that respect.
idbehold 10y ago
If someone finds a way to scale nice weather to other parts of the world, I'm all ears.
leakybit 10y ago
The Bay Area is so desirable because it where all the tech companies are located and the tech companies are there because it were all the tech workers are. It's an unbreakable cycle.
- raldi 10y ago
  For others (including me) high density is itself one of the key attractors. I enjoy the big city lifestyle, with subways and museums and economies of scale and millions of potential new friends.
- johan_larson 10y ago
  I keep waiting for one of the major tech companies to get fed up with what it has to pay staff in SV, and start moving jobs somewhere cheaper. And pretty much anywhere is cheaper. Even the Wall Street banks eventually moved their back-room staff to places cheaper than Manhattan. Apparently New Jersey was a popular destination.
dragonwriter 10y ago
> I find it so strange that experts center their goals around how to fit as many people as possible into these cities, rather than figuring out how to scale what makes places like the Bay Area desirable out to other regions... What makes the Bay Area desirable is climate plus being on a natural river- and sea-based trade nexus.
hsitz 10y ago
Did you read the linked article? One of its main goals was showing that neighborhoods with the desired density are actually nicer places to live than less dense neighborhoods. Like the kind of neighborhoods you visit in Europe and wish you could live somewhere like that. Or, if not you, at least many people prefer that type of living, both practically and aesthetically.

davidw 10y ago

It's possible to do both. It's a lot easier to figure out how to allow people to live in cities though, because the technology has existed for 100's of years. Figuring out how to "replicate Silicon Valley" is something everyone would love to do, but very few places have come close.

jdmichal 10y ago
Silicon Valley as a phenomenon is about network effects, so of course it's extremely difficult to reproduce. How do you reproduce the mid-century hacker culture leading to technical giants leading to VC money attraction leading to startup culture? VC money moving to the Midwest will maybe change where future startups happen, but there's still a lot of networking power centralized to Silicon Valley that will take time to match. And in the meantime, those other places are at a disadvantage in that respect.

idbehold 10y ago

If someone finds a way to scale nice weather to other parts of the world, I'm all ears.

leakybit 10y ago

The Bay Area is so desirable because it where all the tech companies are located and the tech companies are there because it were all the tech workers are. It's an unbreakable cycle.

raldi 10y ago
For others (including me) high density is itself one of the key attractors. I enjoy the big city lifestyle, with subways and museums and economies of scale and millions of potential new friends.
johan_larson 10y ago
I keep waiting for one of the major tech companies to get fed up with what it has to pay staff in SV, and start moving jobs somewhere cheaper. And pretty much anywhere is cheaper. Even the Wall Street banks eventually moved their back-room staff to places cheaper than Manhattan. Apparently New Jersey was a popular destination.

dragonwriter 10y ago

> I find it so strange that experts center their goals around how to fit as many people as possible into these cities, rather than figuring out how to scale what makes places like the Bay Area desirable out to other regions... What makes the Bay Area desirable is climate plus being on a natural river- and sea-based trade nexus.

hsitz 10y ago

Did you read the linked article? One of its main goals was showing that neighborhoods with the desired density are actually nicer places to live than less dense neighborhoods. Like the kind of neighborhoods you visit in Europe and wish you could live somewhere like that. Or, if not you, at least many people prefer that type of living, both practically and aesthetically.