Chapter 5: The North Manufacturing Core

San Francisco has the fifth highest number of tourists in any city in the United States attracting more than 16 million people who visited in 2011 and earning the economy more than 8.5 billion. Thus, tourism is one of the major growth factor in San Francisco's economy.

 

The Gold Rush also turned San Francisco into one of the largest financial districts and the main banking and financial center in the West Coast. With over 30 international financial institutions, seven Fortune 500 companies and a large support infrastructure of professional services—including law, public relations, architecture and design—also with significant presence in the city, San Francisco is designated as one of the ten Beta World Cities.

In 2003, the city's economy recovered from the dot-com crash thanks to a resurgent international tourist industry and the Web 2.0 boom that saw the creation of many new internet and software start-up companies in the city.

Today, San Francisco is again leading the way in new technologies, this time in green energy and stem cell research. New developments in sustainable sources of energy are making San Francisco a magnet for investment, in addition to California laws promoting stem cell research and development.

Silicon Valley is an area located on the San Francisco, California peninsula. It is contained by the San Francisco Bay on the east, the Santa Cruz Mountains on the west, and the Coast Range to the southeast. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations as well as thousands of small startups. Over the past 15 years, Silicon Valley has created some of the world's most successful companies and best-paid workers, while shedding the jobs and industries it no longer needs.

 

 

 

Resources:

http://www.netvalley.com/silicon_valley_history.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Valley
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco