Spaces of innovation : 21st century technopoles

Public authorities and private developers around the world are attempting to create and sustain hubs within the innovation-based economy by fostering successful urban environments. These large-scale developments succeed an earlier generation of post-industrial "technopoles" named after the French word popularized by Castells and Hall in Technopoles of the World (1994). In the 1990s, most planned technopoles resembled suburban office environments with generous landscaping, wide roads, and automobile-focused circulation systems. In contrast, today's economic development experts are increasingly emphasizing the need for interaction and cross-fertilization among companies and institutions in an attempt to foster innovation, from which successful communities are assumed to derive their competitive edge in an information- based economy. Parallel shifts in live-work patterns among creative talent groups are being documented in social science and anecdotal observations. These trends have heightened competition for qualified individuals and initiated a talent war among cities globally. And these individuals are living footloose lifestyles supported by mobile devices and wireless connectivity. Entrepreneurial public agencies and private developers have recognized the potential for reconceiving live-work environments as economic hubs. These holistic projects are identified as 21st century technopoles because they directly address and capitalize on the socio-economic shifts described above leading to vastly different ideal urban configurations. The thesis asks how urban form is expected to contribute to innovation; and, how urban form is being reconceptualized in turn at the neighborhood scale.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2004

Author dc:creator

• Seitinger, Susanne, 1978-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Dennis Frenchman.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/17707

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/17707