Imagine a place where going to work means biking freely without the fear of cars to a coffee shop, where one collaborates with other people from nearby start-ups, research labs or universities. Sounds like a Portlandia episode? Truth is, a report released by the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program earlier this week states that such work environments are starting to emerge organically throughout the world – they’re called Innovation Districts.
These districts are defined as “geographic areas where anchor institutions and companies cluster and connect with small firms, startups, business incubators and accelerators.” Additionally, innovation districts are “physically compact, transit accessible, technically wired and offer a mix of housing, office and retail.”
Having a compact district where firms are near other firms, research labs and universities allows for “open innovation,” which is the sharing of ideas from “legal advice to sophisticated lab equipments.”
This environment, emerging particularly in the U.S. post Great Recession, is a far departure from the landscape of innovation that has dominated the past 50 years – suburban corridors of isolated corporate campuses, accessible mainly by car with little to no attention to integrating work, housing and recreation.
Here are six cities in the U.S. from East Coast to West Coast with areas that fit Brookings’ definition of Innovation District (and to learn more about each, take a look at Brookings' visually compelling report here):
1. Boston: Innovation District
2. Philadelphia: University City
3. Raleigh–Durham: Research Triangle Park
4. Detroit: Downtown, Midtown
5. St. Louis: Cortex
6. Seattle: South Lake Union
Related Stories
| May 3, 2013
SMPS Foundation accepting applications for Ron Garikes Student Scholarship
The SMPS Foundation is now accepting scholarship applications from eligible students majoring in marketing, communications, or public relations who are planning a career in professional services marketing in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry.
| May 3, 2013
Another edible city? Artist creates model city with chewing gum
French artist Jeremy Laffon pieced together a model city with thousands of sticks of mint-green chewing gum.
| May 2, 2013
First look: UC-Davis art museum by SO-IL and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
The University of California, Davis has selected emerging New York-based practice SO-IL to design a new campus’ art museum, which is envisioned to be a “regional center of experimentation, participation and learning.”
| May 2, 2013
A snapshot of the world's amazing construction feats (in one flashy infographic)
From the Great Pyramids of Giza to the U.S. Interstate Highway System, this infographic outlines interesting facts about some of the world's most notable construction projects.
| May 2, 2013
Holl-designed Campbell Sports Center completed at Columbia
Steven Holl Architects celebrates the completion of the Campbell Sports Center, Columbia University’s new training and teaching facility.
| May 2, 2013
BIM group proposes uniform standards for how complete plans need to be
A nationwide group of Building Information Modeling users, known as the BIMForum, is seeking industry input on a proposed set of standards establishing how complete Building Information Models (BIMs) need to be for different stages of the design and construction process.
| May 2, 2013
New web community aims to revitalize abandoned buildings
Italian innovators Andrea Sesta and Daniela Galvani hope to create a worldwide database of abandoned facilities, ripe for redevelopment, with their [im]possible living internet community.