PART I ABOUT THE FUNDACIĂ“N METRĂ“POLI
2 UNDERSTANDING CITIES 2.4 THE NEED FOR INNOVATION
2.4 THE NEED FOR INNOVATION Many governments acknowledge the rising importance of cities and the crucial role of the most innovative among them in the national economy. By identifying the components and clusters of excellence of cities, city-regions and city networks the Fundacion Metropoli is able to discover the creative and innovative capacities on which to build their f uture development strategies. The Proyecto Cities research established that innovation takes place in clusters and through urban networks which share ideas and are experimenting together at the intersection of diverse urban interests. Such privileged urban spaces - a sort of acupuncture nodes - p rovide the setting for synergies and become potential hothouses of creativity and innovation. By understanding the specificities of innovative urban profiles cities can take advantage of their components of excellence t o c apture i nnova t ive p eople a nd institutions, advanced technologies, investment and artistic creativity. Cities around the world aspire to creative confluence and try to replicate the conditions which may have occurred spontaneously in such diverse places as Silicon Valley or artist colonies in dilapidated urban areas. Confronted with global competitiveness, a particular challenge for cities is to attract, nurture and retain creative talent. The Proyecto Cities methodology can assist them to identify the wide ranging conditions they have to f ulfil, encompassing 'hardware' - b uildings, infrastructure, public realm - as well as 'software' - people, cultural content, social connections. In this context, innovation applies to both product and process. In developing innovative products and services (content) cities may also have to innovate process (institutions) to secure the competitive a dvantage i n t he l onger t erm. One definition of innovation is to bring creative ideas to life, stressing the contribution of individuals and groups of people within organisations or cities
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receptive to change.9 The Fundacion Metropoli introduced the interactive Urban Forum. In each particular city, it contributes to identify the urban profile of cities and, in particular, the pull factors and those constituting critical mass of innovative cities. This complex set of drivers reflects the role of human creativity in fostering competitive urban development. Innovation does not happen on its own in cities and requires specific spatial settings, an important object of innovation strategies.The Proyecto Cities research extended to measures adopted by cities with ambitions of global competitiveness. For that reason the Fundacion Metropoli compared innovation hubs driven by frontline science, research and technology with the ones which build on higher education and close links with the arts and the creative industries. It d iscovered that innovation of competitive cities was not confined to science and technology but encompassed in-
Digital and Design City. Fundacion Metropoli