Urbanize or Perish? Assessing the Urbanization of Knowledge Locations in Europe

Abstract

This paper explores the drivers behind a recent "urban turn" of planned knowledge locations in Europe. While acknowledging a general tendency towards more urbanity, we argue that a dense and diverse urban environment is not equally relevant for all types of knowledge-based activities because of nuanced workers' preferences and innovation modes. Based on a theory "considering different types of knowledge bases", we suggest that activities that more intensively rely on symbolic knowledge (e.g., media, design) tend to have a stronger preference for urban settings, while this is less the case for activities based on analytical and synthetic knowledge (e.g., biotechnology and advanced engineering). We illustrate our thesis by three case studies: Kista Science Park in Stockholm, The Digital Hub in Dublin, and Biocant in Coimbra.

Campus–City Relations: Past, Present, and Future

“…The results confirm research that has outlined the urban shift in the accommodation of universities and other technology-driven organizations in the knowledge-based economy (Aasen & Haugen, 2015;Carvalho, 2013;den Heijer, 2011;Katz & Wagner, 2014;van Winden & Carvalho, 2016). Our findings on the campus's shift from peripheral to inner-city locations confirms the work of den Heijer (2011), who documented the physical signs of universities transitions in the Dutch context.…”

“…Several campuses, science parks, and technology parks are being "urbanized" because new functions such as housing, amenities, and cultural facilities have been added to these places. Van Winden and Carvalho (2016) have argued that many places are being transformed from monofunctional business and research-oriented into diverse, open, and urban environments. The empirical data illustrating the past, present, and future functional trends away from exclusively academic or business communities and toward mixed campus communities strengthen these positions (Fig.…”

Spatial Patterns of Knowledge-Intensive Business Services in Cities of Various Sizes, Morphologies and Economies

“…The high rate of spatial concentration also suggests that central localities "add value for knowledge hubs relying on symbolic knowledge" [19] thanks to a high density of a built-up area and (more importantly) spatial proximity that is vital for innovation spillovers based on face-to-face contact. At the same time, IT companies were present in newly constructed office buildings more often than advertising companies that rather adapted older mix-used neighborhoods [110].…”

“…These companies should require tight geographical proximity to their customers, suppliers or rivals [16,17], and cluster in urban cores and dense inner cities, close to the headquarters of large corporations and public institutions. By contrast, services with a predominantly synthetic knowledge base (such as IT) rely primarily on knowledge sourcing and innovation collaboration with partners inside value chains, which are not necessarily local [18,19]. IT companies should, thus, exhibit more dispersed spatial patterns (However, Zook [20] documented clustering of internet companies in the inner city, close to the financial institutions, Spencer [12] also noted this possible location pattern), although they may cluster at the neighborhood level as well [12].Méndez-Ortega and Arauzo-Carod [21] stated that " .…”

How do various types of regions attract creative industries? Comparison of metropolitan, old industrial and rural regions in Czechia

“…et al 2016;Danko, L. et al 2017;Cerisola, S. 2018). There is a general consensus that CI tend to cluster in four types of locations: large urban agglomerations (Boix, R. et al 2015;van Winden, W. and Carvalho, L. 2016) and their centres or inner cities (Spencer, G.M. 2015;Wood, S. and Dovey, K. 2015), metropolitan hinterlands (Felton, E. et al 2010;Gregory, J. and Rogerson, C. 2018), smaller towns concentrating cultural heritage (Lazzeretti, F. et al 2012), touristic centres/environmentally and residentially attractive regions including some rural and peripheral areas (Cruz, S.S. and Teixeira, A.A.C.…”