Innovation and the City: Exploring the Role of Urban Design, Transportation and Land Use

Dear Colleagues,

Cities have served as engines of economic growth and crucibles of innovation for millennia. Despite significant technological advances and the widespread adoption of telecommunications technologies, proximity is still seen as a key factor—if not the key factor—driving innovative productivity. By bringing together diverse peoples and ideas, urban places are well positioned to provide the ideal conditions for new forms and new solutions to arise. In the highly competitive global information/knowledge economy of the 21^st century, cities are perhaps more invested than ever in maximizing innovative capacity by growing, attracting and retaining information/knowledge firms and their high-skill creative workforce.

Papers in this Special Issue will explore the role that urban design, transportation, and land use configurations play in advancing innovation within cities and urban regions. Research that seeks to answer the following questions is also welcome. How does density, land use mix, and transit accessibility, for example, impact innovation or the success of innovative start-ups? How can urban design be best leveraged to attract and retain innovative firms and their employees? Can these goals be met while also advancing equity and sustainability? Additionally, how does the impact of urban form and design on innovation vary across industries and geographic regions, and subsequently, what conditions might require unique solutions? Given recent technological and social developments and the challenges posed by COVID-19 and climate change, it is also worth considering how the relationships between the urban built environment and innovation may be changing.

I am pleased to consider for inclusion in this Special Issue a wide range of original research articles and reviews that explore the diverse and dynamic relationships between urban form/design and innovation. More specific research areas may include, but are certainly not limited to, the following:

• Walkability, public transit, and innovation outcomes;
• The role of land use in innovative productivity;
• The geography of “third places” and their role in innovation/knowledge transfer;
• The impact of urban form/design on innovation in start-up vs. established firms;
• The design and geography of innovation districts;
• Locational preferences of knowledge/information firms;
• Innovation and urban form in cities of the Global South;
• The intersection of equity, innovation, and urban form;
• The role of innovation and urban design in advancing sustainability;
• Metropolitan, megapolitan, or other regional geographic forms of innovation;
• Suburban retrofitting to support innovation;
• Policies and planning strategies to encourage innovation and innovative firms;
• The role of governments in shaping innovative spaces;
• The geography, efficacy, and impact of co-working spaces;
• The creative class and creative spaces/design;
• The impact of COVID-19 or other disruptive events on the geography of innovation.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Bradley Bereitschaft
Guest Editor

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