The Technopoles of Southern California

Abstract

The paper opens with a brief identification of California's pathway (via flexible-production organization) to industrialization and regional growth. The emergence of the aircraft industry in the region during the 1920s and 1930s is described. The formation of the postwar aerospace-electronics industry is then discussed in detail. The geography of Southern California's contemporary technopoles (high-technology industrial districts) is outlined, with a particular emphasis on the aircraft, electronics, biotechnology, and medical-device industries. The functional role of interfirm linkages and local labor markets in the high-technology industrial development of Southern California is analyzed. The paper ends with a few brief allusions to the strengths and vulnerabilities of high-technology industry in the region.