Flywheels

How Cities Are Creating Their Own Futures
Erscheinungsjahr 2021
ISBN: 978-0-231-19954-4
Verlag: Columbia University Press

Buch, Englisch, 296 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 231 mm, Gewicht: 567 g

Once a blue-collar outpost, Seattle transformed into one of the world’s major innovation hubs, home to companies such as Microsoft and Amazon. As other cities try to solve the riddle of creating vibrant economies, many have looked to it as a model of a tech-driven urban renaissance. However, against the backdrop of skyrocketing rents and house prices, homelessness, public safety concerns, persistent racial inequality, and a widening gap between the haves and have-nots, big tech has become a popular target.

Tom Alberg, a venture capitalist who was one of the first investors in Amazon, draws on his experience in Seattle’s tech boom to offer a vision for how cities and businesses can build a brighter future together. He explores how cities can soar to prosperity by creating the conditions that encourage innovation. Like flywheels, livable cities generate momentum by drawing creative citizens who launch businesses. Success attracts more talent, energizing local economies and accelerating further innovation. Alberg emphasizes the importance of city governments and tech companies partnering to address civic challenges. He reflects on why the benefits of the tech boom have not been distributed equally and what business and government leaders must do differently to ensure inclusive growth. The book also examines success stories from smaller cities and their lessons for other up-and-coming tech hubs. Demonstrating the need for innovative thinking that encourages livability alongside economic growth, Flywheels is timely reading for everyone from mayors to business leaders to engaged citizens.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Alberg, Tom

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Regierungspolitik Kultur-, Wissenschafts- & Technologiepolitik
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Betriebswirtschaft Management Forschung & Entwicklung (F&E), Innovation
• Technische Wissenschaften Technik Allgemein Technologie: Soziale & Ethische Aspekte
• Geowissenschaften Geographie | Raumplanung Regional- & Raumplanung Stadtplanung, Kommunale Planung
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Regional- und Städtische Wirtschaft

Über Autor(innen)

Tom Alberg is cofounder of the venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group. He previously was senior vice president of McCaw Cellular and president of LIN Broadcasting. Alberg was an early investor in Amazon and one of its board members from 1996 to 2019. He has also served on the boards of numerous other companies and was a member of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.