Brookings data shows America’s largest cities lost population at historic levels during the pandemic—yet this decentralization is creating fertile ground for new innovation clusters.
The distributed innovation thesis makes a lot of sense, especially when you consider how infrastructure costs scale differently in secondary markets. The housing & community infrastructure point is interesting - we've been seeing modular construction projects pop up in smaller metros where land and labor are more available. One thing I'm curious about though is whether these regional clusters can actually sustain themselves without the density that traditionally drives serendipitous collabs and talent circulation. Austin and Nashville seem to be managing it, but dunno if thats replicable everywhere.
The distributed innovation thesis makes a lot of sense, especially when you consider how infrastructure costs scale differently in secondary markets. The housing & community infrastructure point is interesting - we've been seeing modular construction projects pop up in smaller metros where land and labor are more available. One thing I'm curious about though is whether these regional clusters can actually sustain themselves without the density that traditionally drives serendipitous collabs and talent circulation. Austin and Nashville seem to be managing it, but dunno if thats replicable everywhere.