OpenCape: economic development

economic development

OpenCape will play a critical role as an underpinning technology to support economic development in the Cape Cod region.

Cape Cod has managed a number of major economic transitions since the Pilgrims landed in Provincetown. Early entrepreneurs mastered the sea and developed shipping and whaling industries. In the 19th Century others understood that railroads were the sea lanes of land. In the 20th century highways supported the development of tourism and vacation home support industries. The Cape is now in an economic period of transition and once again its residents have recognized the need to adapt.

The hospitality industry will remain, but it is in transition from taffy and T-shirts to elegant dining and activity entertainment; from motels to time shares and B&Bs; from rental cottages to second homes. The retirement community is shifting from a now stable and declining senior citizen population to an active lifestyle semi-retired middle-aged population. Healthcare, lawn-care, the arts and entertainment will continue to thrive supporting this population.

The segment of the economy that is ripe for development is the Creative Economy. Not creative as in arts, but creative as in creation and innovation.

The development of a Creative/Innovation Economy on the Cape, an economy in which participants are based locally or globally, and in which products and services are not dependent on geographic location, is essential to the region. Intellectual property is this economy’s core asset. Ubiquitous broadband, a mobility network, and access to equity-based capital are its core enablers.

creating regional broadband opportunities

economic development

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