Why Cities Live forever and Companies Die a lot and faster
Cities don't make people poor; they attract poor people. The flow of less advantaged people into cities from Rio to Rotterdam demonstrates urban strength, not weakness. A wealth of research confirms the importance of face-to-face contact. Edward Glaeser.
From John Brokman
And in fact, one of the great things about cities is that it supports crazy people. You walk down Fifth Avenue, you see crazy people. There are always crazy people. Well, that's good. Cities are tolerant of extraordinary diversity. ...
This is in complete contrast to companies. The Google boys in the back garage so to speak with ideas of the search engine, were no doubt promoting all kinds of crazy ideas and maybe having even crazy people around them.
Well, Google is a bit of an exception, because it still tolerates some of that. But most companies start out probably with some of that buzz. But the data indicates that at about 50 employees to a hundred that buzz starts to stop. A company that was more multi dimensional, more evolved, becomes uni dimensional. It closes down.
Cities nurture anonymity, which liberates people to pursue their dreams. they are magnets for individuals and business.they are diverse, in terms of activities they support, skills they generate, and populations they attract. They create economies of scale and scope. They produce complex networks of exchange, including with other cities. Not least they can supply transportation, communications, water supply, sewerage, energy, health and other services far more efficientely than either rural or sprawling suburban areas.
Martin Wolf
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