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Cities, systems of innovation and economic development
Björn Johnson
Department of Business Studies, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
Abstract
Innovative cities are essential for the economic growth and development of countries. At the same time, however, social and environmental problems related to city growth can be serious threats to the full realisation of the socio-economic contribution that cities can make. In this paper it is argued that the notion of a ‘system of innovation' is helpful in understanding the factors that shape the processes of innovation and that determine the extent to which problems related to city growth may be solved.
It is also argued that it is in cities, especially big cities that the power of innovation to promote economic growth and development will be tested, and that in this context, institutional innovation and political innovation as compared to technical innovation are of special importance.
Keywords
innovation, innovation systems, creative cities
Article Text
Cities play a vital role in the social and economic development of countries. Dynamically efficient and productive cities are essential for national economic growth and strong urban economies are essential for generating the resources needed for public and private investment in infrastructure, education and health, improved living conditions and poverty alleviation. Nowadays sustainability has joined the list of tasks cities will need to address.
The road to sustainable development will go through administrative, organisational, institutional and technical innovation. Cities have often been described as the cradles of creativity and as innovative environments and their problem solving capacity has often, but by no means always, been impressive. This paper addresses some issues about how and why some cities are innovative and argues that cities must develop sustainable systems of innovation if they are to solve major questions of sustainability. ...continues...
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