I think tech firms have an opportunity to do good things when selecting a new office in a new city or state. Let me explain.
200 jobs means roughly 300-350 people (some are singles, some are couples, some have kids) that will be directly affected by Stripe opening these offices in Baltimore.
On average, 100 people with relatively high salaries (as it is the case for Stripe employees) "drive" 30 to 50 other jobs (services, etc). This means that this single move by Stripe has the capacity to influence 500-600 people in total. Not a small number.
In cases like this, I wish they would consider partnering with a local architect firm and/or construction firm, plus an investment firm, to repurpose a neglected area, or even build from scratch, using sound and proven architectural guidelines (a good example: https://nightingalehousing.org/ in Melbourne). This way they could offer both office and housing to their employees, and push for sustainable architecture.
Heck, with a larger workforce, they could even be as bold as designing a new town altogether. Some great architects and designers have already shared what's the best way to do it. TL;DR: it's not about cars, it's about people. [0] [1] etc.
I would love to chat with people interested with this idea, and share the little I've learned in my own free time.
[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL_RYm8zs28 (Jan Gehl is one of the most amazing architects of our time, please try to find time to watch at least some of it, you will thank me later)
A good idea, but in Baltimore you don't have to build from scratch. There are over 16,000 vacant homes and 40,000 vacant properties in Baltimore, many in/near chronically neglected black communities. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/baltimore-launches-a-pu...
I can't remember the name, but I've always thought that company that pays for you to become a trained computer programmer in exchange for a cut of your salary would work well in these areas. If they offered a tiered model, starting with basic business computer skills and working up to more technical jobs, in a few years they could fill dozens of offices with support technicians and programmers from local communities.
200 jobs means roughly 300-350 people (some are singles, some are couples, some have kids) that will be directly affected by Stripe opening these offices in Baltimore.
On average, 100 people with relatively high salaries (as it is the case for Stripe employees) "drive" 30 to 50 other jobs (services, etc). This means that this single move by Stripe has the capacity to influence 500-600 people in total. Not a small number.
In cases like this, I wish they would consider partnering with a local architect firm and/or construction firm, plus an investment firm, to repurpose a neglected area, or even build from scratch, using sound and proven architectural guidelines (a good example: https://nightingalehousing.org/ in Melbourne). This way they could offer both office and housing to their employees, and push for sustainable architecture.
Heck, with a larger workforce, they could even be as bold as designing a new town altogether. Some great architects and designers have already shared what's the best way to do it. TL;DR: it's not about cars, it's about people. [0] [1] etc.
I would love to chat with people interested with this idea, and share the little I've learned in my own free time.
[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL_RYm8zs28 (Jan Gehl is one of the most amazing architects of our time, please try to find time to watch at least some of it, you will thank me later)
[1]: https://blog.p2pfoundation.net/an-introduction-to-christophe...