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
| Apr 27, 2012
China Mobile selects Leo A Daly to design three buildings at its new HQ
LEO A DALY, in collaboration with Local Design Institute WDCE, wins competition to design Phase 2, Plot B, of Campus.
| Apr 27, 2012
CSM Group names Comerford as senior project manager
Comerford’s responsibilities include directing and verifying contract compliance by the trade contractors to ensure the owner’s expectations are met in respect to a quality finished project.
| Apr 27, 2012
Hampton Bays Middle School winner of the first National Green Ribbon Schools Program
School was the first LEED-certified public school in the state of New York.
| Apr 26, 2012
USGBC announces inaugural Green Apple Day of Service
On Sept. 29, 2012, participants from all over the world will volunteer to make the schools and campuses in their communities healthier and more sustainable.
| Apr 26, 2012
Gensler's Leiserowitz: Employs holistic philosophy to foster clients' creativity, comfort
Leiserowitz became regional managing principal in Chicago for San Francisco-based architecture and design giant Gensler a little more than a year ago.
| Apr 26, 2012
Blackney Hayes Architects launches new engineering division
The new division, BHH Engineers, will be led by Mark Hershman, PE.
| Apr 26, 2012
Energy efficiency requirements heighten the importance of proper protection for roofing systems
Now more than ever, a well-insulated and well protected roof is critical in new or renovated commercial buildings.
| Apr 26, 2012
Orange County, Fla. high school receives NAIOP “Public Development of the Year” award
School replacement designed by SchenkelShultz Architecture and constructed by Williams Co.
| Apr 25, 2012
Bubble skyscraper design aims to purify drinking water
The Freshwater Skyscraper will address the issue of increasing water scarcity through a process known as transpiration
| Apr 25, 2012
Thornton Tomasetti/Fore Solutions provides consulting for Biologics Support Center
Project receives LEED Gold Certification.