Margaret O’Mara teaches twentieth century American history at the University of Washington in Seattle. Her book “Cities of Knowledge: Cold War Science and the Search for the Next Silicon Valley”, explored how Silicon Valley came to be. In Foreign Policy, under the title “Don’t try this at home” she gives a great summary of why Silicon Valley is unique. The article is on-line but here are some of her “words of advice for the next set of global urban planners who come calling”:
“Give a lot of money to brilliant people and stay out of their way” – O’Mara explains that the US Government was the Valley’s first venture capitalist through research grants and defense contracts, but that Washington refrained from micro managing;
“Find a top-notch university, preferably one with room to spare” –Stanford University continues to be central to the Valley, not only as a research center, but also as a networking hub, a cultural behemoth and a ‘wheeler-dealer landlord’;
O’Mara indicates that Silicon Valley was a success “because it had the qualities that attracted people who had the education, economic resources and social advantages to live anywhere they chose”. A vibrant city nearby, outdoor activities, good weather, good schools, sought-after real estate are among the attractions. She argues that isolated research parks don’t have the same success because they can’t lure talented people – they’ve got to be somewhere where the world’s most talented people actually want to live.
So that is a major issue – where the most talented people want to live. O’Mara might be right about what that means for ‘the next big thing’: “The ideal environment for today’s aspiring entrepreneurs may well be more gritty and urban than the lush grass and quiet office parks of Santa Clara Valley”.
