Over at Forbes Joel Kotkin suggests that Tampa and the cities along the I-4 corridor focus on “medical services, business services and light manufacturing” as a substitute for tourism and development.
That sounds like pretty weak sauce to me. I’d like to see a huge hobbyist culture develop around the arduino, which leads to some innovative entrepreneurship. I’d like to see Tampa become a mecca for retiring bohemians. Maybe we can lead the nation in some BCI game design. Or, how about developing some independent businesses devoted to cloud computing?
If I were recreating Tampa I’d be working to put it at the crossroads of technology and culture. I’d be building a center for post-industrial design, and a government that’s so meta-networked it makes the rest of the nation look like it’s still relying on the telegraph. More than just techies and geeks, I’d be putting all those bohemians who have retired to our blossoming urban core to work on making the next generation of smart, cuddly tools. After doing that, I suppose some medical and business services, and light manufacturing would be OK.
