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
| Dec 9, 2011
BEST AEC FIRM 2011: Chapman Construction/Design
Taking sustainable practices to heart.
| Dec 9, 2011
BEST AEC FIRMS 2011: EYP Architecture & Engineering
Expertise-Driven Design: At EYP Architecture & Engineering, growing the business goes hand in hand with growing the firm’s people.
| Dec 8, 2011
Keast & Hood Co. part of Statue of Liberty renovation team
Keast & Hood Co., is the structural engineer-of-record for the year-long $27.25 million renovation of the Statue of Liberty.
| Dec 8, 2011
HDR opens office in Shanghai
The office, located in the Chong Hing Finance Center in Shanghai’s busy Huangpu District, will support HDR’s design efforts throughout Asia.
| Dec 8, 2011
HOK elevates the green office standard
Firm achieves LEED Platinum certification in New York office that overlooks Bryant Park.
| Dec 7, 2011
ACE Mentor Program receives Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math and Engineering Mentoring
Thornton Tomasetti founding principal Charles H. Thornton responsible for launching ACE.
| Dec 7, 2011
NSF International qualifies first wallcoverings distributor to the New American National Standard for Sustainable Wallcoverings
TRI-KES demonstrates leadership in environmental stewardship as the first distributor to earn qualification.