washington business
overcoming the challenges created by
a vibrant tech economy
Seattle shares these critical attributes with the nation’s
other leading tech hubs. And as the regional cluster
matures, it grows by building on past successes and
attracting new industry. Madrona Venture Group and
the WTIA created the “Seattle Tech Universe” map to
display the region’s tech ecosystem. GeekWire reports
that Microsoft President Brad Smith displayed the map at
the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The map includes more than 600 technology companies
in the state, with graphic ties to the institutions and
companies that are the sources of their founders.
Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing, and the University of
Washington are the brightest stars. But newer firms also
are beginning to create their own constellations, with
more expected. Consider it a tech demonstration of Edwin
Hubble’s discovery that the universe is expanding.
the public policy role
The rise of the tech economy has not been without disruption.
The burgeoning tech sectors have also been at the center of
concerns with income inequality, unaffordable housing, traffic
congestion, and dislocation by gentrification.
The pressure on housing prices is unrelenting, as demand
exceeds supply. The Puget Sound Regional Council reports
that in 2015, “the region had its strongest population growth
in a decade and its strongest job growth since 1997. That’s
63,000 people and 76,000 jobs in the last year. Or seven
people and nine jobs per hour.”
Still, among tech centers, Seattl x