High-tech business location, transportation accessibility, and implications for sustainability: Evaluating the differences between high-tech specializations using empirical evidence from U.S. booming regions

Abstract

Studies on the accessibility needs of high-tech firms often draw on agglomeration economies and creative class assumptions that emphasizes how transit and walkability encourage clustering, knowledge exchange and innovation. As a result, some argue that knowledge-led economic development aligns with sustainability planning, especially as high-tech industries become increasingly tied to smart city agendas. However, due to the new logistic revolution, global e-economy, rise of online workers and urban land values, it is likely that some tech industries prefer strong highway systems, potentially leading to higher GHG emissions. As such, the relationship between the knowledge economy and sustainability outcomes remains unclear. This study addresses these gaps by quantifying the geography of high-tech zones in North Texas and Northern California, measuring their specializations, and exploring their differences in terms of transportation infrastructures. Our results only partially support research suggesting high-tech industries prefer dense, walkable, transit-accessible places. For instance, we found large numbers of high-tech firms (e.g. IT and aerospace) are still attracted to peripheral, auto-centric spaces, which is at odds with sustainable transportation policies. Hence, policymakers may need to revisit their growth strategies to not only succeed in growing their knowledge economy, but also secure sustainability goals.

Negative Consequences of Innovation-Igniting Urban Developments: Empirical Evidence from Three US Cities

“…In an effort to attract capital investment and human capital, IIUDs are based within a locality though they also function at a global level. While this is not unusual in the contemporary global era, what is important to recognize is how IIUDs may fail to address local needs as well as the sectoral differences between knowledge-based businesses (Zandiatashbar, Hamidi, & Foster, 2019). Therefore, IIUDs need to include policies focused on local residents as a way to control for the increased polarized division of labor, housing unaffordability, unequal access to opportunities, and socio-spatial polarization that we found to be the potential negative consequences of IIUDs.…”

“…In the case of Austin, the high-tech boom led to inequality, traffic congestion, urban sprawl, and environmental issues. The same issues are now raised in Dallas-Fort Worth Motorplex in North Texas, where cities offered ample tax incentives and are heavily focused on local place-based strategies to attract high-tech firms (Zandiatashbar, Hamidi, & Foster, 2019). Despite increases in job opportunities, a recent study shows how transit-dependent populations in Dallas do not benefit from this growth due to congestion increase and lack of supportive transit access (Weinreich, Hamidi, Bonakdar, Sardari, & Moazzeni, 2019).…”

“…Diverse specializations could support social inclusion, lifelong learning, and robust R&D activities (Niebuhr, 2010). Studies show that industries have different location behavior: While design and consulting firms are drawn to more walkable and transit accessible neighborhoods, advance manufacturing sectors are drawn to areas with strong auto-accessibility and proximity to airports (Zandiatashbar, Hamidi, & Foster, 2019). Hence, this economic diversification can also balance the needs for both active and non-active mobility facilities and support better accessibility.…”

Understanding jobs-housing imbalance in urban China: A case study of Shanghai

“…The major problem is the limited coverage of the metro system in the outer urban areas where many development zones are located. Given the fact that the transportation system contributes to the development of high-tech zones (Zandiatashbar, Hamidi, & Foster, 2019), extending the metro system to reach the development zones is necessary for Shanghai. Second, the floating population is likely to be influenced by jobs-housing imbalance, and the government should pay attention to the housing needs of the floating population, such as affordable housing projects and public renting projects.…”

Transportation Amenities and High-Tech Firm Location: An Empirical Study of High-Tech Clusters

“…The preference of some tech industries for walkable and transit-accessible locations may not generalize to all tech sectors. Very few empirical studies identify and quantify differences relevant to this uncertainty and therefore do not to take into account possible variations in the accessibility needs of different high-tech specializations ( 13 ). The present study aims to address the gap by investigating location behaviors of six high-tech sectoral categories with respect to transportation infrastructures.…”