The new silicon valley (literally)

Arizona’s economy was once dominated by the “five C’s”: cotton, cattle, citrus, copper, and climate. But a new C has emerged that could grow to overshadow the rest: chips. New semiconductor manufacturing facilities are springing up across the greater Phoenix area, stretching across blocks of new roads with names like “Processor Parkway” and “Transistor Terrace.” Just outside the facilities, developers anticipating an influx of workers are planning mixed-use residential and industrial zones like mini modern-day company towns.

“It should be the sixth C,” says Thomas Maynard, senior vice president of business development at the Greater Phoen …

Read the full story at The Verge.