Exploring Economies is back in 2022! It’s time to hit the road to explore Austin, TX and learn what is attracting savvy entrepreneurs, tech companies and top talent to one of the weirdest cities in the USA.
This trip convenes business, education, and civic partners on a leadership expedition to research what drives the regional economies of competitive markets. Together we uncover what factors differentiate us from our metro competitors and identify how our learnings can be put into action to accelerate economic revitalization through business growth within the Charlotte Region. In 2022, we will visit our metro peer, Austin, Texas.
Register now to join us for some exciting programming and fun times in one of the coolest cities.
Programming will begin mid-day Wednesday (3/2/22) and conclude at noon on Friday (3/4/22).
Travel is not included, but an American Airlines flight discount code will be included in email outreach.
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Austin is the state capital of Texas, an inland city bordering the Hill Country region. Home to the University of Texas flagship campus, Austin is known for its eclectic live-music scene centered around country, blues and rock. Its many parks and lakes are popular for hiking, biking, swimming and boating. South of the city, Formula One's Circuit of the Americas raceway has hosted the United States Grand Prix. It is the 11th-most populous city in the United States, the fourth-most-populous city in Texas, and the second-most-populous state capital city. It has been one of the fastest growing large cities in the United States since 2010. The Austin–Round Rock metropolitan statistical area, which had an estimated population of 2,295,303 as of July 1, 2020, roughly 84% increase from the year 2000.
The city also adopted "Silicon Hills" as a nickname in the 1990s due to a rapid influx of technology and development companies. Since the 1990s Austin has become a center for technology and business. A number of Fortune 500 companies have headquarters or regional offices in Austin, including 3M, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Amazon, Apple, Facebook, NXP semiconductors, Google, IBM, Intel, Oracle, Texas Instruments, and Whole Foods Market. Dell's worldwide headquarters is located in the nearby suburb of Round Rock. With regard to education, Austin is the home of the University of Texas at Austin, which is one of the largest universities in the U.S. and is attended by over 50,000 students.