Indeed, there is a lot of open space. When you look at why Austin has the appeal for high tech industry, I think it largely was/is based on University of Texas and their strong record in computer engineering. This caused companies like IBM, Motorola, Samsung, etc. to locate there.
It takes decades to build out another such city from scratch. I'm not arguing that it shouldn't be done, just that it doesn't happen quickly.
IMO the hardest part is convincing people to be part of such a task because they have self-reinforcing loops like workers go where jobs are, companies go where talent is.
