RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK: E CONOMIC I MPACTS O N D URHAM, NC Presented By: Jiawen Cheong

I NTRODUCTION TO RTP

H ISTORY OF RTP 1950s: NC had one of the lowest per capita incomes in the US Economy dominated by low- wage manufacturing and agricultural industries Severe brain drain despite presence of Universities

H ISTORY OF RTP ( CONT.) 1959: RTP was founded by Government, Business and Academic Leaders Vision: To transform regions economy, improve per capita income, and integrate regional community

I NITIAL D OUBTS Could Research and Business Parks be planned? Negative image of the South Manufacturing Centers in Northeast and Midwest

RTP S TRATEGY Park fully funded and run by private sector With strong support from government University cooperation seen as essential for park idea to succeed Aggressive recruitment of large corporations

RTP G ROWTH

RTP T ODAY

E CONOMIC I MPACT Transformation of Regions Economy National Percentage Share of Technology Employment

E CONOMIC I MPACT ( CONT.) Per Capita Income Growth

E CONOMIC I MPACT ( CONT.) Urban Revival and Transformation Infrastructure Development 13 million sq.ft built space in technology and business parks 15,000 acres of office and retail space >41,000 housing units

S UCCESS ! B UT … Strong correlation between development of RTP and economic growth in Durham Causality? Organic vs. Planned Growth Big Picture trends Need to compare to other University regions

C ONCLUSION RTP has fulfilled the original vision of its founders Important driver of growth More research needed to

THANK YOU!

R EFERENCES Research Triangle Foundation, Link, Albert N. A Generosity of Spirit: The Early History of the Research Triangle Park. Rep. Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina, Print. Link, Albert N., and John T. Scott. "The Growth of Research Triangle Park." Small Business Economics (2003). Web. Research Triangle Park: Evolution and Renaissance. Rep. Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina, June Web. US Census Bureau. Web..