...Whether their tenants are major corporations or start-ups, science and technology parks are growing in popularity and go by a variety of names – science parks, research parks, technology parks, innovation parks. But these specialized facilities are key to an innovative, science- and
technology-based economy. They help bridge the gap between research and industry. ...Stanford created the nation’s first high-tech research park in 1951 in response to industry’s call for land near university resources and the emerging electronics industry tied closely to the School of Engineering.
Since then other parks were created, such as North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park and Huntsville's Cummings Research Park. ...There are at least 17 science/industrial parks in the region that either specialize in aerospace businesses or have at least one tenant from that industry. Some of the parks have been operating for a while, but others are still in the development phase. In addition, the region’s commercial airports have facilities that cater to the aerospace industry, though not necessarily parks.