Unlike science parks, innovation districts are physically compact, leverage density and high levels of accessibility, and provide a “mash up” of activities including housing, office, and neighborhood-serving amenities.
[5] In the early 2000s, European and American cities began to mimic these areas through policy and planning by dedicating zones exclusively for the purpose of clustering entrepreneurs, startups, business accelerators and incubators.
In the 1950s, MIT began deploying university-owned land to innovative private sector companies and developing partnerships with local organizations to support the commercialization of ideas stemming from the university.
[1] Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood transformed in the late 2000s from a low-rise industrial complex into one of the most thriving innovation hubs in the United States.
[9] However, as a result of major development plans by Paul Allen's Vulcan Real Estate, the neighborhood has persuaded the area's leading companies and research centers to relocate to South Lake Union.
[10] In 2015, The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) invited consortia, formed around geographic and technological themes, to apply to be involved in the science and innovation audit (SIA) process.
Recognising the region's ‘Core Strengths’ in Health Innovation and Advanced Materials, and ‘Fast Growth Opportunities’ focused on the future potential of Digital, Energy, and Industrial Biotechnology.
[12][13] In the 2018 Manchester City Council adopted a Strategic Spatial Framework for the Oxford Road Corridor to guide future development and protect the area's unique innovation eco-system.
[14] The Oxford Road Corridor is home to a wide concentration of public, private, academic, and clinical institutions, generating 20% of Manchester's GVA and providing 79,000 jobs.
[15] Property companies Bruntwood and Bruntwood SciTech have invested significantly into assets in the area, acquiring the Manchester Technology Centre in 2003 and developing Manchester Science Park, and Citylabs both of which have designated Life Sciences Enterprise Zone status,[16] and Circle Square which is home to over 35 digital tech businesses including Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Northcoders, Blair Project and Tootoot.
[26] A 7-acre park, a new bus rapid transit station, and the Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Bridge were built in recent years to contribute to the public realm of the district.
In 2014, Mayor Mike Duggan established the Detroit Innovation District Advisory Committee with Nancy Schlichting, CEO of Henry Ford Health Systems, at the helm of the organization.
The initiative dedicated 4.3 square miles of greater downtown Detroit to house small business incubators, train local aspiring entrepreneurs, and attract anchor institutions to the area.
GCID develops, delivers, and supports a range of inclusive innovation-driven initiatives and programs including the Glasgow Tech Fest – Glasgow's first dedicated tech conference, the first Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub for Scotland, the first Climate Neutral District, Business Growth Programmes as well as the Inspire Partners’ Hub which supports Entrepreneurs and Spinouts from Strathclyde University which maximises collaboration, innovation, and impact success.
[1] Katz also dedicated a section to innovation districts in his book The Metropolitan Revolution: How Cities and Metros Are Fixing Our Broken Politics and Fragile Economy.
Defined as “New Century City Developments,” these innovative clusters are “driven by inter-organization and cross-industry collaboration, open systems for R&D, and workers who have the aptitudes and skills required by the networked, knowledge economy.”[33] George Bugliarello of Polytechnic University in New York observed the emergence of “urban knowledge parks,” concluding that these urban parks develop around a knowledge institution in a city, provide public space or spaces for community activities, and possess high levels of density.”[34] Ed Glaeser, an urban economist at Harvard University, also supported the trends driving innovation districts, concluding that “employment growth is strongly predicted by smaller average establishment size, both across cities and across industries within cities.”[35] Specifically, Glaeser studied the effect of a 10% increase in the number of firms per worker in a given city and concluded this was associated with a 9% increase in employment growth in the ensuing two decades.
[40] In Chattanooga's Innovation District, the strategies that have been implemented to limit the negative externalities of the knowledge economy can be regrouped into three main categories: socio-economic, urban, and housing.