Innovation and Cities: Building on Territorial Assets

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Innovation and CitiesBuilding on
Territorial Assets

• Prepared for the
• TORONTO CITY SUMMIT
• June 26, 2002
• Meric S. Gertler
• University of Toronto
• and

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The contemporary competitive environment

• Increasing importance of knowledge and learning
  in creation of economic value means
• Ideas, know-how, creativity, imagination have
  become the most important resources for economic
  prosperity
• Social processes of learning have become
  increasingly important

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The urban advantage

• These developments privilege cities as the
  principal sites of innovation, creativity and
  knowledge-intensive production
• Production and sharing of knowledge based on
  common local norms, trust, ease of exchange,
  circulation of workers
• Scale and concentration effects i.e. sheer
  density, mass and concentration of economic
  actors, ideas, specialized suppliers
• Production of cultural products

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These forces explain why

• despite the global organization of economic
  activity and the growing use of the Internet and
  ICTs, innovation and knowledge-intensive
  production have become more, not less
  geographically concentrated in city-regions
• innovation-generating activity in the most
  knowledge-intensive sectors exhibits the highest
  degrees of geographical concentration

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Cities and national economic competitiveness

• Hence, in a global economy, cities are more, not
  less, important as sites of production and
  innovation
• Their competitive success rests on their unique
  territorial assets tangible and intangible

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Local Territorial Assets
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1. People and quality of place the talent
connection

• Local quality of life reconsidered
• Diversity/Variety
• Cultural richness, amenities
• Openness (low barriers to entry tolerance)
• Depth, variety of local labour market
  opportunities
• Creative workers
• Talent attraction and retention depends on these
  tangible and intangible assets

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1. People and quality of place policy
implications

• Immigration policy
• Settlement policies/programs
• Recognition of educational/professional
  credentials
• Support for cultural assets, programs
• Not just bricks and mortar mega-projects but
  also operating budgets, cultural education
• Importance of balance in the local economy
• Services and manufacturing
• Diversity within each of these

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2. Quality of place the physical environment

• Quality of built and natural environment
• Authenticity, uniqueness key assets
• Character and quality of urban form also an
  asset
• Low-density, auto-oriented or compact,
  pedestrian-friendly?
• State of the public realm?
• High-quality places do not come cheap
• Need for continual reinvestment in assets
  (tangible and intangible) to maintain, enhance
  quality of place

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3. Quality of place social stability

• Deeper meaning of diversity, tolerance
  intangibles
• Quality of place also depends on the extent to
  which
• Social polarization/deprivation can be minimized
• Social harmony/cohesion can be maintained,
  strengthened
• Otherwise, quality of built environment (and the
  foundations for prosperity) will ultimately
  suffer
• Neighbourhood effects accentuate, amplify
  social and economic deprivation
• Myth suburbs can escape the fate of a declining
  central city

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4. Local knowledge infrastructure

• High-quality public schools absolutely critical
• Leveling role for recent immigrants
• Key access point to social and economic networks
• Key determinant of neighbourhood
  quality/stability and diversity (discourages
  ghetto formation)
• Universities, colleges, public and private
  research institutions
• Growing importance as magnets for investment
• We need to promote their care and feeding

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5. Social-Political assets

• A. Institutions matter local intangible assets
  include innovations in governance structures,
  mechanisms
• Cooperation matters ability to align individual
  and community interests
• Leadership matters key role of civic
  entrepreneurs, or animateurs

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Realizing Torontos innovation potential

• Attention to unique tangible and intangible
  assets that set Toronto apart from other places
• Assets private, public and in-between
• Challenges
• Opportunities solid foundations