1 minute read
Figure 2.1 County percent White
from Irvine at 50: From a Planned Community to a Growing Job Center
by University of California, Irvine - School of Social Ecology
MFI Report: Irvine at 50: From a Planned Community to a Growing Job Center December 2021
Figure 2.1
An important part of the job growth in the city of Irvine has been the University of California Irvine. The university has been integral in developing Irvine’s educated workforce which has in turn attracted several large employers to the city, particularly within the high technology sector. Companies such as Rivian, Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, and Google have relocated to the city or expanded their existing operations to tap into the large number of graduates generated by UCI. Additionally, the UCI Research Park provides a unique foundation for job growth in the city by hosting a growing number of businesses, including entrepreneurs and startups who are able to access research generated across the university. Employers that have rented office space at the research park since its inception in 1996 include large multinationals such Canon, Toshiba America, Intel, Skyworks, and Medtronic, as well as smaller R&D firms in the technology, biotechnology, and medical research industries. In addition to their access to university faculty, students, graduates and research, business establishments located within the UCI Research Park benefit from agglomeration effects (e.g. cost reductions and efficiency gains) that emerge from their proximity to other firms engaged in similar production activities at UCI and across the city. Such mechanisms have contributed to Irvine’s emergence as both a jobs center and high-technology cluster in Southern California.
