Towards Urban Resilience through Inter-City Networks of Co-Invention: A Case Study of U.S. Cities

Knowledge creation involves social and collaborative processes with local and extra-local partners. The space of knowledge flows functions as a system of networks where knowledge is transmitted around different alignments of agents in distant places. Scholars argue that the concept of urban resilience combines local and extra-local competencies to develop an inter-city system, this is a major strategy for cities to mitigate and adapt to climate change and economic recession. Little attention has been given to the role of networks in co-invention and few empirical studies have been conducted. This article provides insights into the structure of inter-city networks of co-invention by examining the relative importance of the network compared with spatial proximity in biotechnology co-patenting across 150 American cities from 1983 to 2013. Results show that the U.S. inter-city structure gradually becomes more explicit, apparent, and identifiable in the network-based system. Network proximity better defines the biotechnology co-patenting relationships among the U.S. cities compared with spatial proximity. The current inter-city networks of co-invention are mostly regional, with some national but few local ties. This structure provides a way to develop mitigation and adaptation policies for climate disasters or economic recessions.