In a city that grew up as a manufacturing hub and that has proudly revived that heritage with the arrival of advanced new industries, the political and Chamber of Commerce focus on attracting the next big manufacturers on the coattails of Alstom and Volkswagen is understandable. But just as technology is driving smart manufacturing that needs fewer and fewer workers, it also is driving cities to look toward a redefined economic future where mainstay jobs will depend increasingly on innovation and knowledge-based skills, and on the amenities that will attract the entrepreneurs of the future.
Small wonder, then, that Mayor Ron Littlefield was at a Wednesday luncheon to introduce Dr. Norm Jacknis, the strategic think tank director of Cisco Systems, a global leader in the sphere of computer networking, communication and collaboration that will create many of the jobs of tomorrow.
The occasion at the Loose Cannon wasn’t a Chamber event. Most of the crowd were younger, casually dressed advocates and entrepreneurs connected to the start-up tech companies here that are quietly blending innovation, jobs and far-flung clients in precisely the way that Jacknis suggests will become the base for the best future jobs.
Jacknis’ message, laid out against current trends that connect advanced multinational factories across Asia with global distributors and customers, is irrefutable. It is also central to the city’s exploration of how to take advantage of the gigabit capacity now available through EPB across its multicounty service region.
Chattanooga is now the only city in the country, and one of the few in the world, with communitywide gigabit Internet capacity. But in 10 ten years, or not much more, that unique attribute will become commonplace. And as it does, innovation in a range of fields — education, medical practices, security and an untold array of service and manufacturing businesses — will mushroom, transforming the traditional cohesive synergism of old-style, factory-based cities. This community’s future will be shaped by how well and how soon we learn to exploit and market our gigabit advantage.