week can look forward again to the roaring 2020s. new york city came back blazingly fast and really became a center for art and culture. it s the greenwich village as we know it. new york city is a culture center because housing became more affordable and artists could move there. but the big example we could use historically that you and i lived there is the deindustrialization of great cities that happened in the 70s and 80s when manufacturing decamped and people predicted 6 the death of new york and that s when president ford said, new york, drop dead, deal with your fiscal crisis, but what happened was those older factory buildings proved to be the perfect place for art studios, musical venues for practice, other venues. they ever become the incubators and accelerators for the great tech boom in new york city, so
venues. they ever become the incubators and accelerators for the great tech boom in new york city, so what wouldn t surprise me is if our big experiment with remote work is recasting our office towers and office buildings, which are located in the most central and best locations served by transit and trains in the densest part of our cities, if they came back with socialized connectivity and actually more residents and more affordable housing. when you look globally, it s fair to say that the great trend of urbanization we ve already crossed, i think 50% of the world now lives in cities that great trend seems to be continuing and continues to be as strong as ever, and i want to ask you if i m right in thinking the fundamental reason why this continues is very simple. you make more money if you live in a city, on average. that s why, in the wake of every pandemic in history going
Katherine Dupree
RIoT is a nonprofit organization driving innovation and entrepreneurship in the Raleigh area.
One program, RIoT Your Reality, is a competition where teams pitch AR ideas to improve the city.
Other initiatives include an accelerator program and a data-centric stormwater management project.
This article is part of a series focused on American cities building a better tomorrow called Advancing Cities.
In July, six teams will demonstrate their ideas for how augmented reality can help solve some of the challenges facing Raleigh, North Carolina, and the surrounding areas.
Through the program RIoT Your Reality, the teams are examining ways to improve diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in city programs, promote workforce development, and reinvent the Raleigh Convention Center to drive economic development.
Black entrepreneurs still face significant challenges when it comes to raising funds and scaling up their businesses. Can accelerator programs tailored for Black founders help address the inequalities?