In the past decade, much of the discussion around cities which have the right mix for cultivating start-ups have been about cities or regions that have the capacity to be "the next Silicon Valley." It is not a good trend, according to We Forum. It implied replacing the old with the new and a view which is short-sided, saying that there must be a new city to replace the old, redundant one.

The focus must instead be on non-Silicon Valley patterned cities, according to Startup Genome's 2019 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER), which pointed to 30 "next" hubs. These hubs are slowly but surely reaching critical mass-a size that is needed that will give them the opportunity to "reshape" the state of the global economy today.

None of them are as big and as tech-savvy as Silicon Valley today, but in the foreseeable future, each will have a chance to thrive. This will depend on two things-either they will be regionally dominant, or they will be a start-up, sub-sector leader.

Right now, the newest list still shows that Silicon Valley is still at the top, but the trend is pointing toward Beijing, Boston, Tel Aviv, New York City, Berlin, Paris, Los Angeles, and Shanghai as those next in line.

A new study has also been released where new business startups are looking for cities with good public transportation as compared to the traditional growth indicators. Early startups were founded in suburban cities though ones that aren't necessarily with good transportation. Silicon Valley, the North Carolina Research Triangle, and even the suburbs of Seattle-where the Microsoft Corporation was established-were prime locations, according to City Lab.

Transit access has become one of the indicators for a city becoming home to startup companies. The study, published by Kevin Credit from the Center for Spatial Data Science at the University of Chicago, used advanced spatial econometric techniques to research which cities might possibly become home to these new startups.

Two of the results are already tech hubs-San Jose (Silicon Valley) and Austin. The others are Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Boston. The latter two already have developed transit systems although startup companies have yet to relocate here. Boston already has an established transit system coupled with high startup activity.

There will be newly discovered reasons behind startup activity, but these remain a positive indication of start-up progress.