Are walkable places tech incubators? Evidence from Nebraska’s ‘Silicon Prairie’

Bradley Bereitschaft

doi:10.1080/21681376.2019.1620631

Are walkable places tech incubators? Evidence from Nebraska’s ‘Silicon Prairie’

Bradley Bereitschaft

Geography/Geology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study examines the spatial association between science- and technology-related entrepreneurship and neighbourhood walkability in eastern Nebraska, often referred to as the northern ‘Silicon Prairie’. Tech start-up firms are expected to gravitate toward more walkable or pedestrian-oriented urban locations to benefit from heightened social interaction, knowledge spillovers and a more vibrant, creative atmosphere. Data on start-up firms collected from the online database Crunchbase.com and a walkability index provided by the popular online service Walk Score^® were used to evaluate the walkability–tech entrepreneurship nexus. The spatial relationship between walkability and firm location may have important implications for metropolitan areas seeking to incubate new firms and industries in situ, and potentially become leaders in new, innovative industries.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	339-356
Number of pages	18
Journal	Regional Studies, Regional Science
Volume	6
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/21681376.2019.1620631
State	Published - Jan 1 2019

Keywords

Silicon Prairie
creative city
firm location
innovation
start-up
tech firms
walk score
walkability

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Geography, Planning and Development
Sociology and Political Science
Economics and Econometrics

Access to Document

10.1080/21681376.2019.1620631

Cite this

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title = "Are walkable places tech incubators? Evidence from Nebraska{\textquoteright}s {\textquoteleft}Silicon Prairie{\textquoteright}",

abstract = "This study examines the spatial association between science- and technology-related entrepreneurship and neighbourhood walkability in eastern Nebraska, often referred to as the northern {\textquoteleft}Silicon Prairie{\textquoteright}. Tech start-up firms are expected to gravitate toward more walkable or pedestrian-oriented urban locations to benefit from heightened social interaction, knowledge spillovers and a more vibrant, creative atmosphere. Data on start-up firms collected from the online database Crunchbase.com and a walkability index provided by the popular online service Walk Score{\textregistered} were used to evaluate the walkability–tech entrepreneurship nexus. The spatial relationship between walkability and firm location may have important implications for metropolitan areas seeking to incubate new firms and industries in situ, and potentially become leaders in new, innovative industries.",

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Are walkable places tech incubators? Evidence from Nebraska’s ‘Silicon Prairie’

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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