High Tech for Economic Growth

I have been thinking about the similarities between the development of railroads, the telegraph, telephone, interstate system, and the Internet. A major influence of my thinking is owed to the fact that one of my ancestors, David McConaughey, is responsible for the naming and the development of Cameron, West Virginia. The main thing that facilitated the development of a little mountain town was that it became a railroad stop. The interstate hi-way system and tractor-trailers have diminished the role of the railroad system in the United States. But, the true enabler of these transport systems was the electrically powered, long-distance communication systems of the telegraph and telephone.

Many believed that the Internet would facilitate decentralization of economic resources from the cities as information can be transmitted from anywhere on the network. This has not been the case. It appears as though the resources have become ever more concentrated in the cities because the population is more concentrated and a higher ROI is possible from the expense for assembling new communication networks.

http://varnelis.net/articles/centripetal_city

Looking at how history has progressed I hypothesize that if a community want to grow in prominence and economically it must invest in the infrastructure of our time. This would be high-speed data networks and airports. Although the information is a bit dated, The Internet Backbone and the American Metropolis provided some very interested data.

My advice to community planners is for them to get the cheapest, fastest Internet access for its citizens if they want to see economic growth in their community. Additionally, high-speed transportation to other communities, especially those with an airport, should be a high priority.