GOV. EASLEY ANNOUNCES RALEIGH-DURHAM AMONG WORLD’S 30 ‘FAST CITIES’
Fast Company Magazine Places Triangle In Top Three Research Areas

RALEIGH – Gov. Mike Easley today announced that Fast Company magazine has rated the Raleigh-Durham area as one of the world’s Top 30 “Fast Cities” for research and development activities.  The area was recognized as a location where investors, entrepreneurs and employees alike can maximize their potential, establish prosperous businesses and enjoy a good lifestyle.

“Once again, those outside the state see what we in North Carolina know, that the Raleigh-Durham area is a great place to build a company, to work and to live,” Easley said.  “This reflects our important ongoing efforts to provide an attractive business environment along with quality schools, community colleges and universities that build a skilled workforce.”

Fast Company is a business magazine that reports on innovation, technology and creative approaches that spark change in the marketplace.  Its web site, www.fastcompany.com, also includes the “Fast Cities 2007” report.

The magazine selected 30 cities in its July/August edition as “winners in the battle for the future” in categories that included high-tech hot spots, urban innovators, startup hubs, culture centers and global villages.  The Raleigh-Durham metro area was one of three cities recognized as providing the world’s best research and development environment.  The others were Fort Collins, Colo., and Seoul, South Korea.

“This region wrote the original recipe for high-tech clusters,” the web site says of Raleigh-Durham. “Start with careful planning, add a warm business climate and top with a high qualify to life. But don’t forget the brains. Three big universities fuel innovation in biotech, pharma and computer science.”

The article mentions tech companies Red Hat and the SAS Institute as local innovators and notes that the Raleigh-Durham area boasts the United States’ highest percentage of college graduates ages 25-34.  To view the entire list of 2007 Fast Cities and read details of the selection, visit: www.fastcompany.com/cities/2007.

“Fast cities are considered to be worldwide centers of creativity where the most important ideas and organizations of the future are located,” said Fast Company Editor and Managing Director Bob Safian.  “Our editors scoured the globe in search of places that best embody economic innovation and opportunity.  These cities attract the best and brightest and are great places to work and live.”

North Carolina’s talented, knowledge-driven workforce also was recognized in June by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, which ranked Raleigh and Fayetteville among the Top 25 Cities for Creative Professionals.  The article is available online at: www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2007/06/bestcities.html.

 

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