21st CENTURY ECONOMY

Prepare Our City For The 21st Century Economy

Pecan Street Project Announcement

From semiconductors to clean energy, biotech to software, wireless to film and digital media, Austin is on the cutting edge of the global technology economy.

Austin’s economic strategy starts with a focus on the emerging job sectors of the future –biotech and healthcare, clean energy, wireless and the creative economy sectors, including film and digital media.

Identifying the innovative job sectors of the future, then setting out to lead in them… it’s that approach that put us on the tech map in the 80’s. And it’s that approach that will launch Austin into the 21st Century economy. Even in these tough economic times (perhaps especially in these tough economic times), Austin must chart our economic future with vision and boldness. Now is not the time to batten down the hatches and let fear paralyze us into inaction. We must unify around a vision for the future and move forward with determination to achieve that future.

A better future doesn’t happen by accident. Leadership in a 21st Century Economy won’t happen by accident.

A generation ago, Austin created the model for how a city can establish leadership in the economic sectors of the future. The architect for this model was University of Texas Business School Dean George Kozmetsky. Here are seven specific elements of Dr. Kozmetsky’s model that Austin used to become a global technology economy leader in just five years – and that we can use again to lead in the 21st Century Economy.

Austin’s 21st Century Economic plan should include the following objectives:

  1. Make Austin the nation’s unquestioned leader in clean energy.
  2. Make Austin a national leader in the creative economy sectors of film, digital media and music by focusing on independent digital filmmaking and independent creative media.
  3. Maintain Austin’s global leadership in semiconductors.
  4. Move Austin into the nation’s top biotech regions.
  5. Establish a regional economic vision of a biotech-clean energy economic corridor linking Austin and San Antonio.