The future of Research Triangle Park

North Carolina’s cities have continued to prosper despite the baleful policies coming down from the legislature. This can be overstated: Raleigh grew 46.3% in the 2000s (when Democrats were in charge) but only 15.8% in the 2010s, the era of Phil Berger’s “conservative successes.” But the urban Piedmont has done pretty well all things considered. Urban North Carolina has been able to draw strength from public investments made years ago that have continued to pay dividends.

The “crown jewel,” as the old but true cliche has it, of the Piedmont’s economic strengths is the UNC system. But another institution adjacent to the universities is Research Triangle Park. RTP was founded in 1959 by civic-minded business leaders and Governor Luther Hodges. It’s an example of Hamiltonian economic development, using the public sector to drive industrial progress and economic growth. Because of RTP, an enormous portion of the state’s economic development has gravitated toward the central Piedmont, now called the Triangle.

We wouldn’t have had a Research Triangle Park if Berger-style reactionaries had controlled state government. Any role for government in stimulating economic growth is anathema to them. In fact, in 2013 Berger’s state Senate launched direct attacks on several entities that were crucial in building and promoting Research Triangle Park. Senator Bob Rucho (D-Mecklenburg, but really Massachusetts) tried to defund the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. Governor Pat McCrory’s thoughtful response was he wanted to “take another look.” Brilliant.

But the Research Triangle Park has continued to attract companies and new investment. Now the Park faces another set of challenges. Artificial intelligence may radically reshape the operations and workforces of RTP’s companies. In a way, RTP may have to recapitulate one of its original purposes. When Hodges and his allies founded the Park, part of their intention was to provide better economic opportunities for North Carolinians who were suffering from a stagnant economy. Park leaders worked over the next several decades to help former textile workers and tobacco farmers adjust to an economy that severely undermined those industries. The Park’s next challenge may be to help the people who have thrived in the era of the knowledge economy to adapt to a world where tech workers’ skills will become far less valuable.

I wouldn’t bet against Research Triangle Park.

Subscribe to Alexander H, Jones' substack blog here