Cuyahoga Valley and Silicon Valley
As I looked at downtown Cleveland from the glorious Edgewater drive, across the Cuyahoga River and Industrial Valley, I saw the Rockefeller Building where the Standard Oil was born, I also drove past the now shuttered factories of GE where Edison once tried his tricks before moving eastwards, Cleveland area had been the home of many innovators and entreprenuers who defined the industrial revolution in USA.These entreprenuers were migrants from Baltics, Balkans, Germany, Poland (Delicious Polish Perogies at West Side Market YUM) and Ireland. Currently, Cleveland area has few large corporations, Eaton, Parker Hannifan and 9 more are the Fortune 500 companies in the region. As I drove thru the various industrial areas of the past in the region it was saddening to see the various buildings standing like carcasses let out to dry, biggest carcass was 14 building complex of the former White Motors which was acquired by Volvo and shifted the plant and headquarters to Virginia, Cleveland lost a lot of industrial power due to bankruptcies, acqusitions or simply CEOs took the companies to fashionable places.
Last week I was in West Coast I drove around the Silicon Valley as a student of Industrial History I couldn't help compare it to Cleveland's past, plenty of ideas going around, people with energy and capital.The Silicon Valley has attracted many immigrants mainly from India and East Europe, the El Camino Blvd looked more like Serangoon Road of Singapore of Yester years. It was also intriguing to see the industrial cycles consuming the valley, Yahoo almost collapsing, Cadence shaky and pink slips galore. I was also alarmed at the amount of vacant office space indicating the predicated explosion of the Silicon Valley didn't happen. The vacant spaces looked like freshly cut meat unlike the carcasses back home
My take aways from the trip were despite what the people like Anna Lee Saxenian might say about places of strong innovation like the Silicon Valley, they have limits to growth, other take away was places of strong innovation like the Cuyahoga Valley or the Silicon Valley are better off innovating till the Wall Street types come and demand returns so that they can get Zillion Dollar bonuses
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