How Idaho Falls can foster a Silicon Valley economy
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I recently read an article about how your town could make itself into a Silicon Valley. The emphasis was on fostering a technology-startup economy that generates lots of cash and tourists. Wouldn’t it be nice if Idaho Falls could cultivate an environment that generated lots of startup companies, with the cash and tourist boom following?
The two types of people needed to create technological economies are apparently the rich and the nerdy (sounds like a soap opera). Having rich people without nerds or nerds without rich people to fund them will not work.
Buildings alone will not encourage innovation, so those “technology-parks” sound nice but are a step beyond what actual startup technology companies need. Office space is the step beyond a startup, which typically startup in home offices, basements, and garages (IdahoFallz.com is still run out of a residential basement). The article states that wherever the startups exist when they get major funding is where they will likely stay as the company grows.
The key to attract those nerdy people to Idaho Falls is to design environments and experiences that will encourage their creative juices. Another critical function is to then facilitate means for them to meet rich people and work out funding.
The article noted that all technology hubs have top-notch universities, or at least top-notch computer science departments. The way to have top-notch computer science or other technologically-related learning environments is to attract top-notch professors. The best professors decide where they move based partly on the quality of the other professors at the institutions. Whatever an educational program may cost, simply throwing more money at the professors really will get you a better learning institution. I hope our legislators who grumble that throwing money at education won’t solve the problem read about this.
Beyond a strong technology education environment, Idaho Falls needs to be a place that rich people want to live in and the smart graduates want to stay in. The article notes that these creative nerdy and rich people want cities with personality, and that “well-preserved old neighborhoods” and “locally-owned shops and restaurants” are much more preferable to “cookie-cutter suburbs” and “national chains”, which unfortunately is developing everywhere in our area.
Idaho Falls is fortunate to meet a separate criteria for an “intact center”. However, we should encourage higher-density developments and discourage the large-scale developments employing one or two floor plans everywhere. Suburbs are not where the smart, young people want to live, so denser housing needs to be created in central Idaho Falls. I think transforming the tree streets-area from a poor ghetto to a hip downtown extension could profoundly help Idaho Falls to this goal.
An interesting observation was that nerds like places where people walk around smiling. That is tough to say in Idaho Falls. People walking around the greenbelt or downtown are smiling, but the few people walking everywhere else around Idaho Falls are rarely smiling.
Another interesting observation was that technology hubs tend to be full of young people with far-fetched ideas. Sure most of those ideas will fail, but they learn from those mistakes and eventually some of those ideas are knocked out of the ballpark.
The final hurdle, and perhaps the most challenging for Idaho Falls, is that most of the technology hubs are also very liberal by way of tolerating the unorthodox ideas that smart nerds have. The article even references the last presidential election map, drawing a correlation between counties that voted most liberal with the technology-impact in those areas. Notice how bright red Madison county is? This article’s reasoning is a sure bet that Rexburg will never be a bright technological hub. Which way does Idaho Falls want to go?
The final ingredient would be time. All of these things are simply investments in our city’s future. The changes would be met with many grumblings of liberal spending of other peoples’ money, but if Idaho Falls wants to develop as a technology hub a plan must be made. The plan should include many of these elements and investments in the future could be referenced to the master plan whenever criticism mounts.
The article notes that cities either have a startup technology hub or they don’t, there are no examples of cities in the middle ground. So as much as Idaho Falls may hope to diversify our economy with technology companies, we have to actively makes all of these changes to reach that end.
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Comments
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0 You know I’ve been thinking about that part all day, and I’m not sure I necessarily agree with that criteria, either.
It almost implies that only liberal people can identify needs and brainstorm solutions, or are the only ones who can think outside the box, and (I hope) nobody believes that.
Perhaps the types of technology startups differ in conservative areas vs. liberal areas? What kind of startups does Provo have?
So to encourage local technology startups, Idaho Falls would need to ratchet up our technology education opportunities, build up a denser urban core (such as the new urbanism exhibited in Taylor Crossing plans), and create an environment where smiling people walk around.
The denser urban core is formulaic, we just need developers willing to do it. I again say we should look at transforming the tree streets into a denser urban core.
The technology education opportunities in Idaho Falls can be accomplished in many ways. I am a big believer in self-education using the Internet or self-paced CD/DVD video instruction.
I think Idaho Falls could also encourage more young people to get into technology with internships at local businesses. I don’t know exactly how it would work and I’m sure it would cost some money, but as it is now most local businesses are ignoring young people who are trying to get into technology.
How to get people to walk around smiling? I think we could start with an emphasis on pedestrian safety on our streets, because many people do not feel safe walking around Idaho Falls.
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0 0 That is an interesting thought that many people don’t feel safe walking around I.F. I’m guess you mean certain areas of downtown, right?
So did the “Boise Boys” sig you on me? They’ve been slamming I.F. a little too much, so I called them out on all their claims. I noticed I got a private message from one tonight.
I don’t disagree about the urbanism and don’t claim to have the answers of how to make it happen. But, this is a theme the Boise Boys have been chanting for quite a while. However, they are only looking at primarily one way to do this, the best I can tell. But, I could be wrong.
I do think it is possible for I.F. to develop urbanism, utilizing different methods than Boise. I don’t think a developer MUST have a tower for a new urban-type feel. I believe it has to have the right ingredients, such as the closed off streets, and a more academic type feeling, if I can use that word. For free thoughts to flow, those who build and design have to be comfortable to the point they talk away an afternoon at a coffee shop or side walk cafe,’ without focusing on the time of day.
I’d say a pedestrian type of mall atmosphere with the mom and pop shops, WiFi, of course, could become natural gathering places. to develop an area such as this, one has to have a major investor who understands why a more academic, laid back pedestrian type of mall (like Seattle did near the ball parks), or with limited parking. The question then becomes who and how, to bank roll.
I do think that until some local venture capitalists see this type of idea tack off, they will be reserved to put their money into it, unless someone can do some great education. In your opinion, do you think ISU or U of I is stronger in promoting PRODUCTIVE free thinking. Building ideas and making them happen instead of just talking about what should change?
Also, I think a SOLID player that must be included, is BYU-I. The population is only growing. I don’t know what their strongest programs and degrees are currently. However, BYU-I is here to stay.
If you have read any Salt Lake City web sites or papers recently, then you know how many Billions of dollars the LDS Church is pumping into redeveloping downtown SLC. What is kind of fascinating to me about what you’ve written, is many of the City Creek development, and opening the creek so a park is available around it in downtown SLC (so people can sit on the grass or just take a break from the buildings). A lot of what I thought you were describing sounded the same, at least to me.
I would look for proven winners. If the U. of I. is stronger in computer science, then my first step would to get more students to petition for more computer science classes in Idaho Falls. Sometimes, I think we fail to realize that the U. of I. is in I.F., as well as ISU. I don’t know with turf wars who would or should increase computer class time. But, even if it is ISU, get it in Idaho Falls.
If you can show the demand, then the backing has to come. If computer science, and other closely-related degrees become available from U. of I. - I.F., or ISU -IF, then you are drawing the first part of the infrastructure - the teachers who have the background in the subjects one needs to obtain required degrees.
The next layer would be those who would invest in coffee shops etc. off of campus, but close enough that classmates could gather or a Professor and students could continue a discussion.
Perhaps, this could be a good match with the builidng INL is suppose to be doing, along with the Int’l Training Center. Perhaps instead of focusing on downtown, perhaps the initial work should be done closest to the campus and INL expansion.
And while studies may highlight many things different professionals want in a location, without a job that pays well, the rest of the discussion doesn’t exist, IMHO.
As for smiling, start with the smiley faces again - or emoticons. No, seriously, if people feel that they are progressing toward goals they want, they will be smiling naturally.
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0 0 I have been thinking this one over all day long, and I have to say that I have some ideas.
First of all I’m not sure if Idaho Falls will ever have the computer savvy economy of Silicon Valley, but we still have something very high tech going for us that I hope our city and state governments can help us with.
I have read quite a few articles recently about how Idaho can be the leader in new energy technology, from wind power, to nuclear power, solar power, and yes even geothermal power.
It’s not hard to miss the 40+ windmills sitting atop the foothills east of Idaho Falls and while they don’t create many jobs, it is a statement that we are looking to cleaner fuels to produce energy. Drive west out Highway 20 to the site and there are plenty of projects there dealing with ways to create cleaner energy. Add to that the new Center for Advanced Studies in Idaho Falls and the state pushing for the federal government to build the next generation nuclear reactor there, it also shows that the site has it’s new goals.
There is also a report that Idaho has a high amount of untapped solar energy production, in comes Hoku Scientific, who is partnering with contractors at the INL, and are also looking at Idaho Falls as a possibile site for solar module and polysilicon manufacturing.
In another report, it has been said that Idaho has the nations highest capabilites for geothermal power production. There has been talks of building one of these for a time now, on the Bonneville/Bingham county line, up in the foothills. (I had no idea there were geothermal vents there, but I think it’s a rather interesting concept.)
Next we move to ethanol production, though unproven that it is cheaper to produce in the long run, Iogen, a Canadian company has been looking to the Idaho Falls area for a few years now in hopes to build a plant.
And last but not least, methane production, (which was mentioned by the Post Register a few weeks back) is starting to look like a viable concept.
The last two energy producers would be dependent on our agricultural economy, which has taken a down turn lately, due to nematode infestation and low prices for potatoes and could help keep farmers in business, if they chose to use their crops for energy producing purposes, instead of selling their land.
To sum it all up, high tech industry, although not quite computer type technology could be the key in creating the Idaho Falls of the future. If Iogen and Hoku come here, INL holds strong with their new mission, and upstart businesses in methane production start to take off, Idaho Falls could end up being the “Energy Capital”.
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0 0 And not to forget that Idaho Falls already garners 33% of it’s energy from hydro power.
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0 0 I think that is a fantastic idea - focusing on making IF the Energy Capital. I have lived in many different cities around the US, and all the “cool” cities have a nitch of some sort. Energy production would really set IF apart and draw all kinds of people to this area.
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0 0 Yes, I agree this could be an exciting idea. There has been talk of the area becoming an energy corridor for a couple of years. It will take different companies joining together for that common cause, an energy corrider.
Joe, what I don’t know is if you envision a Mini-Silicon Valley in Idaho Falls, would that mean a computer/high tech area. Or, a fast growth area that is so advanced compared to other areas in the country, that it is a natural leader, like diverse energy?
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0 0 I think our area is poised to become a hub for energy innovation, but I’m sure we need to create and follow a “roadmap” or strategy to make that happen. In other words, we should have a summit or conference locally to discuss what our area needs to foster the climate for energy innovation, production, etc. It just won’t happen by wishful thinking.
I would be thrilled to see our area foster a high technology vibe. I think we need to orient our local education offerings towards computers and programming if we want to attain that goal. I don’t think it is enough to try creating incentives for high tech companies to relocate here. We should foster the environment for startups to grow here.
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0 0 Guys, you forgot the most important factor for a valley type business. First you’d need an airport with a regular daily flights to SFO or SJC. Boise is great at 1 hr 30 mins direct to SFO where as IDA takes over 5 hrs via salt lake city. I’m part of a successful startup (a nurd with money) doing some amazing things for the likes of Google and other big five players. I’m seriously considering relocating to South Idaho as the valley land prices are way to high. We could hire another five or ten people tomorrow if we move to Idaho. So a 1 hr 30 flight for me is an easy twice-a-week morning commute into the valley for client meetings, for folks like me at least, the airport would be your first base to start from.
Good luck with the plans dudes! Desire is half the ingredient of destiny, the other half requires planning 
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Joe,
I hope to respond to this later in more detail. But, I wanted to make one quick point, given a telephone call I received today.
Look at Novell in Provo. They seem to be doing well in a conservative envirnment. I don’t know if that could ever be done again. Just thinking about someone I talked with today who worked his way up the Novell ladder, while attending school p/t.