A Retrospective on Tomorrow Land .
Silicon Valley is a distinctive region for a number of reasons.
High technology from computers to biotechnology permeate its political economy. Once reflective of the ethnic diversity of agrarian California, the last thirty years have witnessed a new influx of cultures, ranging from Scandinavian Midwestern aeronautical engineers to Vietnamese and Afghani refugees. Locally, nationally and even internationally Silicon Valley has become mythic territory where bright young nerds in a garage can blend innovation and entrepreneurial savvy to create more democratic corporations. Silicon Valley is not just any California coastal town. For better or worse, it has become a metaphor for tomorrow land, a theme park of global corporate enthusiasm ranging from the small Ma and Pa Wang start-up to Hewlett Packard and Apple.