Strong university research groups were founded, and the attempt to improve manufacturing spread quality-control methods through industry.
Some of the reasons for Akron's success, including strong university research programmes and an openness to professional immigrants, echo ones often cited for the success of Silicon Valley.
"It might sound trite, but prospective students and their families saw on TV a united student body and incredibly supportive alumni population working together with strong university leadership," said Larry Hincker, associate vice president for university relations at Virginia Tech.
America's team is favourite to win, and if it makes it to the final game in Pasadena, California, a sell-out crowd at the 90,000-seat Rose Bowl could set another record for attendance.America's national women's team has evolved from the country's strong university and high-school programmes.
The public research funders of Europe's poorest countries such as Portugal, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, and Slovenia, have hardly any room for manoeuvre, whereas countries such as the UK – which has a strong university and R&D sector to build on – have decided that freezing investments in science is somehow essential to overcome the debt crisis.
"A strong university is excellent news for the north east because we are helping hundreds of local companies with our research services, providing top-quality graduates for them to employ and are creating new companies which, like Novocastra, can take root and grow in the regional economy," said Professor Edwards.
And strong universities are good for their cities, which is why N.Y.U.'s plan is supported by editorial boards and leading public figures in New York.
Mr. Smith, the University of Houston economist, agreed that both Dallas and Austin benefit from a talented work force and the advantages of strong universities, particularly in Austin, that can be incubators for new business.
"EDG ferrets out ideas from the laboratories and gives them a great initial opportunity to get developed and refined," says Mui. Mui comes with a strong university-based entrepreneurial pedigree, having previously founded both the MIT Entrepreneurs Club and the MIT 10K Business Plan Competition.
And towns like Waterloo and Montreal possess strong universities and healthy talent pools full of engineers that want the experience of a Silicon Valley startup without needing to pack up and move to the Bay Area.
While capital, infrastructure, strong universities, accelerator programs and incubators, all contribute to the makings of an appealing startup city, the city itself carries equal weight.
