Once known as "the Valley of the Heart's Delight" for its acres of orchards and pastures, this region transformed from an agricultural heartland into the world's capital of high technology industry as the result of a mixture of military spending, shifting demographics, new technologies, powerful universities, and new flows of private capital. The home of what was once called "largest legal creation of wealth in the history of the planet" inhabits a distinctive and historically contingent urban ecosystem, yet Silicon Valley's success has spawned countless imitators across the globe. Our maps and research briefings demonstrate how and why Silicon Valley became a model city for the post-industrial age, and what environmental and social shifts have resulted from these patterns of growth.
Explore how Silicon Valley has changed by checking the desired layers. Click on the map points for more information about individual locations. Be patient -- depending on your browser, this may take a little while.
