On the surface, the strongest parallels appear to be between Austin and Madison. Both cities are home to the flagship campuses of major universities, state capitals, beautiful lakes, lots of trails, other outdoor recreation opportunities and multiple cultural amenities. Milwaukee civic leaders believe Wisconsin's largest city also can apply some of the high-tech lessons that Austin and other areas have to teach. Austin expects to see 10,000 new technology workers arrive downtown in coming years as several large software and microchip design companies and dozens of dot-com firms build or lease offices in the area. Wisconsin cities clearly have a way to go before they have assembled the same economic building blocks that Austin has today.
City packs a punch Austin is recognized as one of the country's leading areas for high technology.
Although its population is smaller than Milwaukee's, Austin has more than 70,000 workers in the industry and continues to see dozens of new high-tech firms created there every year. Milwaukee has about 42,000 high-tech workers, and Madison has about 14,600. Sheehy said southeastern Wisconsin has not been effective at coordinating economic development efforts for the high-tech industry. If you look at the success Austin or any region has had, they have made a connection between universities, the private sector and the venture capital community. Sheehy said he is optimistic that southeastern Wisconsin is starting to do a better job.