6 ms·

Cambridge to become Europe’s Silicon Valley with 250k extra homes

26 points by dukeyukey 3y ago

TooSmugToFail 3y ago
https://archive.ph/MlGhF https://archive.ph/MlGhF
dave4420 3y ago
Vapourware.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
retrocryptid 3y ago
Except that Britain decided a few years back that Cambridge is not in Europe, it is in Britain. And I'm not sure that building houses is what created sili valley.
- jowdones 3y ago
  I would suggest picking some valley and coating it with polysiloxane (silicone).
- malermeister 3y ago
  To be fair, Britain is still in Europe, just not in the EU. Now, those self-imposed sanctions mean that this probably won't go anywhere, but that's another story.
  - atoav 3y ago
    The GDR was also in Germany and in Europe, yet the iron curtain had its name for a reason. Politic borders are sometimes more significant than geographic ones and if you want to become "the silicon valley of Europe" attracting talent is key. And everything the past years of UK politics has shown doesn't instill any kind of confidence — and people like me would've been the kind they would like to attract.
    - malermeister 3y ago
      Yeah I don't disagree with you on any of that. I'm a tech worker in Europe that has lived in London in the past. I wouldn't live there again now that Brexit has happened and I don't think this is going to succeed because I suspect many feel the same.
      - atoav 3y ago
        I think the biggest damage Brexit has done is that it revealed how unreliable UK is both on the world stage and from the perspective of the insividual. I certainly wouldn't trust them with the future of my life by moving there by this point. I don't claim that particular flavour of simple-minded populism wouldn't fly elsewhere (sadly: it does), but the way in which the whole thing was carried out in the UK was... quite unique. I had the feeling that the majority of politicians who implemented it privately knew this was a stupid idea and pushed through ("deliverrred") anyways with a very british bone-headedness. As if they accidentally queued for a face-slapping, when in fact they intended to queue for a free hug: After realising their mistake they were more afraid of the looks they would receive if they stepped out of the queue than with the consequences of getting slapped. Only this made them look even more ridiculous.
    - aleph_minus_one 3y ago
      > Politic borders are sometimes more significant than geographic ones Switzerland and Norway are also not in the EU.
      - Timon3 3y ago
        But they are part of Schengen, which for the purpose of attracting talent is at least a partial replacement.
        aleph_minus_one 3y ago
        Being part of the Schengen area mostly means that (in many cases) you don't have to show your passport or identity card when crossing borders between Schengen area countries. It is not clear to me what difference this makes for attracting talents.
- sneed_chucker 3y ago
  I guess Switzerland is not in Europe either then?
  - dgellow 3y ago
    I think the person you answered to meant Schengen by saying “Europe”. Switzerland is in Schengen.
  - retrocryptid 3y ago
    Next you're going to tell me that Austin is in Texas. Austin is absolutely not in Texas. It is surrounded by Texas in almost the same way West Berlin was "in" East Germany. Maybe more interestingly... Turkey is (and has been for a while) a member of NATO. The last time I was there they were still using the Lira, though it was easy enough to exchange Euros. But there's talk about Turkey joining (I think) the EU as part of the deal for Ukraine to eventually join NATO. So if Turkey joined the EU, would it suddenly be in Europe? My understanding was that Asia started at the Bosphorus, so the majority of Turkey is in Asia Minor. Not to mention Cyprus is supposed to join the Schengen area at some point. Heck. I don't even know if Cyprus is considered part of "Europe." I think my point was even geography sometimes avoids simple categorization. And the Britons all seem to be anti-European. So it seems odd Cambridge wants to build the "European Sili Valley" in a country where the majority of those who voted, voted to reject their European association.
- eynsham 3y ago
  If Britain ever decided that Cambridge was in Britain (presumably a constituent of a decision that Cambridge should be in Britain, not Europe), it would have done so by one of the Acts of Union.
- musicale 3y ago
  If they really want a Silicon Vally style housing market, building more houses may not be the right approach.
rasz 3y ago
Will they also build a Fab in Newcastle? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE0DEOictVg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE0DEOictVg
TheCoelacanth 3y ago
How is that supposed to work? Silicon Valley is notorious for not allowing enough housing to be built.
- m0llusk 3y ago
  Silicon Valley as it is known now started with a burst of single family home building in the postwar years. The knowledge workers were already there, mostly associated with Berkeley or Stanford. Cambridge is in a similar situation with many high end knowledge workers potentially capable of great developments but needing homes for additional contributors. This could be a great move and at the very least will likely result in growth of communities in the area.
toyg 3y ago
[flagged]
darkclouds 3y ago
Cant get around in Cambridge the traffic is terrible, unless you have an ebike, so I guess everyone will be working remotely from home, but then why do we need so many houses in Cambridge? Sure Stansted airport is 13mins down the M11 so Ryan Air can get you to most parts of Europe if you need a face to face meeting in Europe; Heathrow or Gatwick is more hassle if you have to head to the Americas, or far east, but this just seems pointless. Saying that I think Prudential own all the land around Stansted Airport and the trick for the second runway at Stansted airport will be to build the 2nd runway quite a distance away from the first, so the eventual 3rd runway will fit between the two existing runways and its got the longest runway in the UK which is why the space shuttle flew in to Stansted on the back of a plane. A14 has been improved making getting away for the weekend to the lake district or peak district easier, Cambridge to Mt Snowdon in Wales can be driven in 4 hours if you fancy a stomp and some hills, 3-4hrs walk up and down (pygs/miners), 4hrs drive back, aka a 12hr day, because Cambridge is really flat, and I mean really flat! But I cant stress enough, the traffic in Cambridge is terrible and with global warming and rising sea levels, would these homes be a poor investment? https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/parts-cambridgeshire-could-underwater-less-22041211 https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/parts-c...
- growse 3y ago
  > Cant get around in Cambridge the traffic is terrible, unless you have an ebike, so I guess everyone will be working remotely from home, but then why do we need so many houses in Cambridge? Getting around Cambridge is perfectly easy, as long as you're not in a car.
- gloryjulio 3y ago
  > Cant get around in Cambridge the traffic is terrible, unless you have an ebike Isn't that a great news? A good city should be walk-able and bike friendly instead of car friendly
  - darkclouds 3y ago
    The city centre is walkable and bike-able, but head out to parts of the burbs and its not so doable unless you dont mind walking for about an hour, or spending 20-30mins on a bike. Cant have an ebike either because the state doesnt like their limited revenue generating and prosecute-ability, judging by the news outlets lamenting ebike fires and deaths, whilst not mentioning the virtue of working smoke detectors.
psychphysic 3y ago
UK politics runs on copium. This wont happen because no one wants to risk house prices in their area falling. Besides if Brexit didn't kill the future of tech Startups in the UK the absurd extra regulations were bringing in like Online Safety Bill will.
- dukeyukey 3y ago
  Despite how hard the UK government tries, it's still the third-largest tech sector in the world, only behind the continental-scale economies of the US and China.
TheLoafOfBread 3y ago
Good luck with getting visa to UK as an EU citizen. Home Office does not know what they want, but they won't stop requesting it until they will get it.

26 points by dukeyukey 3y ago

TooSmugToFail 3y ago

https://archive.ph/MlGhF https://archive.ph/MlGhF

dave4420 3y ago

Vapourware.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

retrocryptid 3y ago

Except that Britain decided a few years back that Cambridge is not in Europe, it is in Britain. And I'm not sure that building houses is what created sili valley.

jowdones 3y ago
I would suggest picking some valley and coating it with polysiloxane (silicone).
malermeister 3y ago
To be fair, Britain is still in Europe, just not in the EU. Now, those self-imposed sanctions mean that this probably won't go anywhere, but that's another story.
- atoav 3y ago
  The GDR was also in Germany and in Europe, yet the iron curtain had its name for a reason. Politic borders are sometimes more significant than geographic ones and if you want to become "the silicon valley of Europe" attracting talent is key. And everything the past years of UK politics has shown doesn't instill any kind of confidence — and people like me would've been the kind they would like to attract.
  - malermeister 3y ago
    Yeah I don't disagree with you on any of that. I'm a tech worker in Europe that has lived in London in the past. I wouldn't live there again now that Brexit has happened and I don't think this is going to succeed because I suspect many feel the same.
    - atoav 3y ago
      I think the biggest damage Brexit has done is that it revealed how unreliable UK is both on the world stage and from the perspective of the insividual. I certainly wouldn't trust them with the future of my life by moving there by this point. I don't claim that particular flavour of simple-minded populism wouldn't fly elsewhere (sadly: it does), but the way in which the whole thing was carried out in the UK was... quite unique. I had the feeling that the majority of politicians who implemented it privately knew this was a stupid idea and pushed through ("deliverrred") anyways with a very british bone-headedness. As if they accidentally queued for a face-slapping, when in fact they intended to queue for a free hug: After realising their mistake they were more afraid of the looks they would receive if they stepped out of the queue than with the consequences of getting slapped. Only this made them look even more ridiculous.
  - aleph_minus_one 3y ago
    > Politic borders are sometimes more significant than geographic ones Switzerland and Norway are also not in the EU.
    - Timon3 3y ago
      But they are part of Schengen, which for the purpose of attracting talent is at least a partial replacement.
      - aleph_minus_one 3y ago
        Being part of the Schengen area mostly means that (in many cases) you don't have to show your passport or identity card when crossing borders between Schengen area countries. It is not clear to me what difference this makes for attracting talents.
sneed_chucker 3y ago
I guess Switzerland is not in Europe either then?
- dgellow 3y ago
  I think the person you answered to meant Schengen by saying “Europe”. Switzerland is in Schengen.
- retrocryptid 3y ago
  Next you're going to tell me that Austin is in Texas. Austin is absolutely not in Texas. It is surrounded by Texas in almost the same way West Berlin was "in" East Germany. Maybe more interestingly... Turkey is (and has been for a while) a member of NATO. The last time I was there they were still using the Lira, though it was easy enough to exchange Euros. But there's talk about Turkey joining (I think) the EU as part of the deal for Ukraine to eventually join NATO. So if Turkey joined the EU, would it suddenly be in Europe? My understanding was that Asia started at the Bosphorus, so the majority of Turkey is in Asia Minor. Not to mention Cyprus is supposed to join the Schengen area at some point. Heck. I don't even know if Cyprus is considered part of "Europe." I think my point was even geography sometimes avoids simple categorization. And the Britons all seem to be anti-European. So it seems odd Cambridge wants to build the "European Sili Valley" in a country where the majority of those who voted, voted to reject their European association.
eynsham 3y ago
If Britain ever decided that Cambridge was in Britain (presumably a constituent of a decision that Cambridge should be in Britain, not Europe), it would have done so by one of the Acts of Union.
musicale 3y ago
If they really want a Silicon Vally style housing market, building more houses may not be the right approach.

rasz 3y ago

Will they also build a Fab in Newcastle? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE0DEOictVg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE0DEOictVg

TheCoelacanth 3y ago

How is that supposed to work? Silicon Valley is notorious for not allowing enough housing to be built.

m0llusk 3y ago
Silicon Valley as it is known now started with a burst of single family home building in the postwar years. The knowledge workers were already there, mostly associated with Berkeley or Stanford. Cambridge is in a similar situation with many high end knowledge workers potentially capable of great developments but needing homes for additional contributors. This could be a great move and at the very least will likely result in growth of communities in the area.

toyg 3y ago

[flagged]

darkclouds 3y ago

Cant get around in Cambridge the traffic is terrible, unless you have an ebike, so I guess everyone will be working remotely from home, but then why do we need so many houses in Cambridge? Sure Stansted airport is 13mins down the M11 so Ryan Air can get you to most parts of Europe if you need a face to face meeting in Europe; Heathrow or Gatwick is more hassle if you have to head to the Americas, or far east, but this just seems pointless. Saying that I think Prudential own all the land around Stansted Airport and the trick for the second runway at Stansted airport will be to build the 2nd runway quite a distance away from the first, so the eventual 3rd runway will fit between the two existing runways and its got the longest runway in the UK which is why the space shuttle flew in to Stansted on the back of a plane. A14 has been improved making getting away for the weekend to the lake district or peak district easier, Cambridge to Mt Snowdon in Wales can be driven in 4 hours if you fancy a stomp and some hills, 3-4hrs walk up and down (pygs/miners), 4hrs drive back, aka a 12hr day, because Cambridge is really flat, and I mean really flat! But I cant stress enough, the traffic in Cambridge is terrible and with global warming and rising sea levels, would these homes be a poor investment? https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/parts-cambridgeshire-could-underwater-less-22041211 https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/parts-c...

growse 3y ago
> Cant get around in Cambridge the traffic is terrible, unless you have an ebike, so I guess everyone will be working remotely from home, but then why do we need so many houses in Cambridge? Getting around Cambridge is perfectly easy, as long as you're not in a car.
gloryjulio 3y ago
> Cant get around in Cambridge the traffic is terrible, unless you have an ebike Isn't that a great news? A good city should be walk-able and bike friendly instead of car friendly
- darkclouds 3y ago
  The city centre is walkable and bike-able, but head out to parts of the burbs and its not so doable unless you dont mind walking for about an hour, or spending 20-30mins on a bike. Cant have an ebike either because the state doesnt like their limited revenue generating and prosecute-ability, judging by the news outlets lamenting ebike fires and deaths, whilst not mentioning the virtue of working smoke detectors.

psychphysic 3y ago

UK politics runs on copium. This wont happen because no one wants to risk house prices in their area falling. Besides if Brexit didn't kill the future of tech Startups in the UK the absurd extra regulations were bringing in like Online Safety Bill will.

dukeyukey 3y ago
Despite how hard the UK government tries, it's still the third-largest tech sector in the world, only behind the continental-scale economies of the US and China.

TheLoafOfBread 3y ago

Good luck with getting visa to UK as an EU citizen. Home Office does not know what they want, but they won't stop requesting it until they will get it.