Technopolis c2005

Kirt's Cogitations™ #186

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Technopolis c2005

The results are in, and according to Popular Science magazine, the top 10 "technopolis" cities are as follows. (1) Minneapolis, MN; (2) Atlanta, GA; (3) Washington, D.C.; (4) Boston, MA; (5) San Diego, CA; (6) Chicago, IL; (7) Columbus, OH; (8) Raleigh, NC; (9) Seattle, WA; and (10 Houston, TX; in that order. Popular Science surveyed academics, scientists, government officials, market researchers, think-tank intelligentsia, as well as their own staff to make their determinations. Hard statistical data was obtained from the Census Bureau, the Department of Transportation, the National Science Foundation, medical facilities, private foundations, and other such institutions. 127 cities were rated.

Data points were broken into six main categories. The first and most heavily weighted factor is termed "connected citizenry," and included percentage of households with broadband service, people with cellphones and what types of services they subscribed to, availability of Internet hotspots, etc. High tech transportation systems came next with considerations like modern facilities, equipment, alternative fuel usage, and success at attracting riders away from single occupancy vehicles. The number of high tech jobs per capita followed. Use of technology in education came after that, with points being scored for amount of money spent on R&D, students using computers in school, and publications. Smart use of energy included types of electrical production, transmission, monitoring, and customer education. Finally, use of technology in medicine considered use of GPS-aided emergency response teams, clinical investigation of new drugs and techniques, and doctor / nurse / patient communications.

While some cities understandably bubbled to the top in certain categories, like Boston for Education, Seattle for Connected Citizenry, San Diego for Medical & Emergency Technology, and San Jose for High Tech Jobs, Minneapolis emerged as the overall most rounded (although it did not place first in any category).

In case you are wondering, here is the entire list:

This just in: A resume for Igor Zavgorodny is posted on WirelessDevNet Career Center that is a hijacking of mine <click>.