This book pragmatically explores the myths, concepts, policies, key conditions and tools for enhancing creative knowledge cities. The authors provide a critical reflection on the reality of city concepts including university-city alignment for campus planning, labour market conditions, social capital and proximity, triple helix based transformation, and learning by city governments. Original examples from both the EU and US are complemented by detailed case studies of cities including Rotterdam, Vienna and Munich. The book also examines the reality of knowledge cities in emerging economies such as Brazil and China, with a focus on institutional transferability. Key conditions addressed include soft infrastructure, knowledge spillovers among firms and the connectivity of cities via transport networks to allow the creation of new hubs of knowledge-based services.

Discussing global society entails discussing the predominant characteristics of knowledge-based activities in all walks of life. Its main characteristics are based on creativity, innovation, freedom, and networking. The emergence of such a society poses several challenges to all disciplines of social sciences. Within such a context, sociologists must have practical encounters to the theoretical, methodological, and empirical challenges imposed within contemporary global society. In this vein, studying creative cities from an interdisciplinary perspective helps provide critical readings of the phenomenon and the different levels of the concept in reality. The Handbook of Research on Creative Cities and Advanced Models for Knowledge-Based Urban Development provides global models and best practices of creative cities worldwide and illustrates different theoretical blueprints for the better understanding of contemporary global society. While defining key concepts of creative cities, global society, and creative class, the book also clarifies the main differences between hubs, parks, and precincts and their contributions to knowledge-based development. Covering topics that include knowledge economy, social inclusion, and urban mobility, this comprehensive reference is ideal for sociologists, urban planners/designers, political scientists, economists, anthropologists, historians, policymakers, researchers, academicians, and students.

Explores the utilization of urban technology to support knowledge city initiatives, providing fundamental techniques and processes for the successful integration of information technologies and urban production. Presents research on a multitude of cutting-edge urban information communication technology issues.

Richard Florida outlines how certain cities succeed in attracting members of the 'creative class' - the key economic growth asset - and argues that, in order to prosper, cities must harness this creative potential.

This unique book focuses on regional creativity, analysing the different factors that can affect creativity and innovation process within regions in the knowledge economy. Approaching creativity from technological, organizational and regional viewpoints, it attempts to break down the influence of oppositional approaches and take account of multi-level interactions in economy and policy. The variety of papers presented looks at: how regions can be creative and competitive how research and development is outsourced and the scientific knowledge and technology transferred what types of technology based cultural activities can operate the relevant financing and development of knowledge entrepreneurship. Whilst many of these aspects are driven by market forces Creative Regions demonstrates that the regional and national public sectors have a significant role to play and is essential reading on how to generate a competitive advantage for regions in the knowledge economy in the global market.

Knowledge Cities are cities that possess an economy driven by high value-added exports created through research, technology, and brainpower. In other words, these are cities in which both the private and the public sectors value knowledge, nurture knowledge, spend money on supporting knowledge dissemination and discovery (ie learning and innovation) and harness knowledge to create products and services that add value and create wealth. Currently there are 65 urban development programs worldwide formally designated as “knowledge cities.” Knowledge-based cities fall under a new area of academic research entitled Knowledge-Based Development, which brings together research in urban development and urban studies and planning with knowledge management and intellectual capital. In this book, Francisco Javier Carillo of the Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM) brings together a group of distinguished scholars to outline the theory, development, and realities of knowledge cities. Based on knowledge-based development, the book shows how knowledge can be and is placed at the center of city planning and economic development to enable knowledge flows and innovation to provide a sustainable environment for high value-added products and services.

The term smart city has become a buzzword. City planners develop ubiquitous connectivity through Wi-Fi hotspots, establish science parks, introduce bike and car sharing, and push entrepreneurship. All this is happening under the flagship of becoming a knowledge city. This book investigates the digital and cognitive infrastructure of 31 cities and how they meet the demands of the knowledge society in an increasingly digitized environment.

Virtually every city-region in West and Central Europe has developed policies and strategies to attract, retain and encourage creative industries and knowledge-intensive services. Since most of these citiy-regions tend to see a creative knowledge economy as 'the best bet for the future', one of the main goals of such policies and strategies is increasing the international competitiveness of their city-region. Using the cities of Amsterdam, Barcelona, Birmingham, Helsinki, Leipzig, Manchester, and Munich as case studies, this book explores the spatial, economic, historical, socio-demographic, socio-cultural and political conditions that may determine whether a city-region is or can become attractive for creative and knowledge-intensive companies, and for the talented people working for or founding these companies. A comparison of the case studies and an overview of the key findings, similarities and differences which lead to policy recommendations as well as suggested directions for further research will make this book attractive to urban and regional academics, planners and students.

The book investigates the impact on the competitiveness of cities developing creative industries (arts, media, entertainment, creative business services, architects, publishers, designers) and knowledge-intensive industries (ICT, R&D, finance, law). It provides significant new knowledge to the theoretical and practical understanding of the conditions necessary to stimulate "creative knowledge" cities. The editors compare the socio-economic developments, experiences and strategies in 13 urban regions across Europe: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Birmingham, Budapest, Dublin, Helsinki, Leipzig, Milan, Munich, Poznan, Riga, Sofia and Toulouse. These have different histories and roles; include capital and non-capital cities of different sizes; represent cities with different economic structures; and different cultural, political and welfare state traditions. Through this wide set of examples, Making Competitive Cities informs the debate about creative and knowledge-intensive industries, economic development, and competitiveness policies. It focuses on which metropolitan regions have a better chance to develop as "creative knowledge regions" and which do not, as well as investigating why this is so and what can policy do to influence change. Chapter authors from thirteen European institutions rigorously evaluate, reformulate and empirically test assumptions about cities and their potential for attracting creative and knowledge-intensive industries. As well as a systematic empirical comparison of developments related to these industries, the book examines the pathways that cities have followed and surveys both the negative and positive impacts of different prevailing conditions. Special Features: Analyses link between knowledge-intensive sectors and urban competitiveness Offers evidence from 13 European urban regions drawn from a major research project Establishes a new benchmark for academic and policy debates in a fast-moving field

This unique book reveals the procedural aspects of knowledge-based urban planning, development and assessment. Concentrating on major knowledge city building processes, and providing state-of-the-art experiences and perspectives, this important compendium explores innovative models, approaches and lessons learnt from a number of key case studies across the world. Many cities worldwide, in order to brand themselves as knowledge cities, have undergone major transformations in the 21st century. This book provides a thorough understanding of these transformations and the key issues in building prosperous knowledge cities by focusing particularly on the policy-making, planning process and performance assessment aspects. The contributors reveal theoretical and conceptual foundations of knowledge cities and their development approach of knowledge-based urban development. They present best-practice examples from a number of key case studies across the globe. This important book provides readers with a thorough understanding of the key issues in planning and developing prosperous knowledge cities of the knowledge economy era, which will prove invaluable to national, state/regional and city governments' planning and development departments. Academics, postgraduate and undergraduate students of regional and urban studies will also find this path-breaking book an intriguing read.