At the start of this New Year, UBJ is taking the long view of the business and other trends that will shape the future of the Upstate.
In the year 2030, many nationwide trends will have made their way to our area. With some now-nascent technologies becoming mainstream, we might very well be eating 3-D printed snacks while engaging with holographic advertising as we walk past storefronts. Smaller living spaces will be in demand and parking garages will likely be smaller, with our cars driven to us by robots.
The population wave coming to the Southeast will change the way the Upstate looks in many ways. Age, race and nationality will all be represented in different proportions from the degree they are today. Those population shifts will bring new demands for services and opportunities for business to Upstate communities.
These are the changes we’ll be able to physically see with our eyes – but quieter developments will also affect the business world in 2030. Regulations of all kinds will continue to shape the direction of businesses and industry, from federal coal emissions limits to post-2008 financial regulations that drive consumers and businesses toward alternative finance. Educators and industries will have taken aim at the pending skills gap crisis, and sidelined cash will try to make itself useful in heightened M&A activity.
Some aspects of the area’s social, business and physical structure 15 years ago are nearly unrecognizable today. Some of that is due to the deliberate planning and enduring work of many people in the community, and some of it can be attributed to the larger forces – expected and unexpected – that shape society.
With that in mind, UBJ has brought together some hard numbers, big ideas and ongoing trends to consider what will change – and what just might stay the same – in the years to come.
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Technology 2030 | RFID, iBeacons and 3-D printing you can eat – today’s cutting-edge innovations will be tomorrow’s everyday tech
Real Estate 2030 | In the future, robots will park your car, and a 3-D printer might churn out your next house
Energy 2030 | Biomass and solar will play a part in the Upstate’s future, while the state comes to terms with its nuclear legacy
Workforce Development 2030 | Look for the link between education and workforce to become even more pronounced
Finance 2030 | Investments, financing and banking will undergo transformative shifts in the next 15 years
Population 2030 | The face of the Upstate’s future will be older, more diverse
