Document Type

Closed Project

Publication Date

Winter 2018

Instructor

Tugrul Daim

Course Title

Management of Engineering and Technology

Course Number

EMGT 520/620

Subjects

High technology industries -- Oregon -- Portland Region -- Planning, High technology industries -- Oregon -- Portland Region -- Management, Technology -- Management, High technology industries -- Oregon -- Sustainability

Abstract

The term “Silicon Forest” refers to the Portland city and its metropolitan area. According to Wikipedia the definition is “...nickname for the cluster of high-tech companies located in the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon, and most frequently refers to the industrial corridor between Beaverton and Hillsboro in northwest Oregon...”

The nickname contains 2 words, silicon and forest. “Silicon” comes from the high concentration of silicon labs and companies related with microchips in the area. In order to do not imitate the “Silicon Valley” nickname, but with the clear roots on this nickname, the second word from the famous hub in California is changed to “Forest”, looking into the West of Oregon abundance of forest. As a result, the nickname “Silicon Forest” tries to compress on it the dominant technology in the area and the landscape peculiarity in Oregon. The area has been slowly displacing lumber industry as a main industry and replacing it by high-tech firms that nowadays contribute to 1/5 of the State wealth.

For all these reasons, Oregon State has a clear debt to high-tech industry and it must seriously commit to its future sustainability, which is undoubtedly related with Oregon future. But growth must not be done at any price and impact in the non-high-tech members of the society has to be consider too.

This research is looking for a wider perspective than Oregon and high-tech relationship only, adding the impact of this relationship in other areas like housing market, political decisions, unemployment or transportation. And beyond, looking for the potential links between these external factors and the reasons that have prevented Oregon to become a Tier-1 technological hub.

Rights

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Comments

This project is only available to students, staff, and faculty of Portland State University

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/24561

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