The Jeff Beckham Weblog

Austin has a place on the Fast Company magazine’s “Fast Cities” list, a grouping of “30 urban centers that are shaping our future”. Austin is classified as a “Startup Hub”, along with London; Madison, Wisconsin; and Tucson, Arizona.

The magazine says that cities were selected on three basic criteria: a culture that nurtures creative action and game-changing enterprise, innovation and energy.

Austin’s “leading indicator” was the “highest number by far of Wi-Fi hot spots per capita in the United States”. The city’s relatively young population and SXSW festival were also mentioned.