Cristina Martinez-Fernandez

Why Do Cities Shrink

Cities and regions in different political contexts might play different roles in building communities, but when the cities shrink, they share common elements of what can be characterized as a “shrinkage identity”. One well-documented element is the independence from the country political context and a certain dependence on the effects of globalization on local industries. It can be described as economic structural dependency. Two other potential elements received very little attention: social structural dependency (so-called instituted behaviour) and urban sprawl. Case studies from Germany and England and observations in Australia witness that these three elements are specifications of the same analogue on different levels: spatial mismatches of needs and urban functions. This paper poses questions related to the role of the spatial mismatch concept and particularly interrogates social structural dependencies and urban sprawl as examples. It suggests that the latter are certainly contributing to long-term urban shrinkage (as cause and effect) and that spatial mismatches in general are hardly discussed as reasons for it.

Knowledge-intensive service activities in the success of the Australian mining industry

No other industry in Australia has achieved a greater significance in economic development terms as mining. The mineral industries have built a national infrastructure throughout Australia for more than a century and Australias minerals boom has produced generations of mining technology services (MTS) companies. This paper discusses the role of MTS firms in the transformation of the mining industry into the knowledge economy. Results from a study of Australian MTS and mining firms suggest that innovation results from the interaction of these firms through knowledge-intensive service activities.

Knowledge transfer and industry innovation: the discovery of nanotechnology by South-West Sydney organisations

This paper presents an innovative initiative of a regional university stimulating the development of a knowledge hub around nanotechnology applications to businesses. The paper argues that the regional industry structure and competitiveness can be influenced by this type of university-industry partnership that initiate, share, facilitate and transfer new technologies and practices. At the same time the paper indicates the social and ethical impact of introducing radical new technologies.

Key Knowledge Providers as Sources of Business Innovation

Studies of innovation are giving increasing attention to the relationships that businesses maintain with different participants in the innovation process. It is generally assumed that interaction with other businesses, universities and government organizations can generate knowledge that will improve the ability to innovate. However, there is little evidence of the specific roles that businesses assign to partners with regard to the provision of knowledge for innovation activities. This paper presents results from research on the dynamics of Triple Helix networks, where such networks provide the basis for building innovation capacity for businesses in catch-up geographical regions. The principal assumption is that businesses adopting an open collaboration strategy have a greater capacity to combine knowledge from different sources and adapt the knowledge to suit their innovation processes. A large set of key indicators is used to identify which regional sources are considered by businesses to be important for acquiring knowledge. The study is based on a survey of 737 businesses in the Andalusia region of Southern Spain and analysis of the results provides a typology of businesses characterized by the extent to which they focus their interest on specific groups of participants in the innovation process. The conclusions highlight and compare the role of universities with that of business networks, service providers, government and other sources.

Measuring regional knowledge resources: What do knowledge occupations have to offer?

Summary In this paper we will examine one of the most locally specific resources within regions: their workforce. We will consider how the specific types and quantities of knowledge workers evident in a region could be measured, and suggest that these workers form an integral but underestimated component of a region’s innovative capability. To illustrate this hypothesis we use an established breakdown of occupations by aspects of knowledge and function, by sub–regions for the metropolitan region of Sydney. This paper aims to highlight two key points. Firstly the recognition that examining knowledge workers, especially in a broader sense than is currently utilised in the innovation literature (R&D scientific employment) is a useful way for examining and interpreting the knowledge dynamics of a region, and secondly, the importance of aggregation and scale when examining regional innovation systems. Adequate consideration for the distribution of these dynamics is essential for policymakers engaged in activities to encourage innovative activity as well as promoting equitable access to knowledge resources particularly in urban, metropolitan regions.

The Knowledge Economy at Work

There has been a great deal of discussion on the knowledge economy, but much of this has been more a matter of rhetoric than serious analysis. This book is a pioneering effort to address this gap, using a range of methods and investigating knowledge-intensive service activities in many different sectors.

The Territorial Dimension of the European Social Fund: A Local Approach for Local Jobs?

This paper discusses the results of a study of measuring green growth in the Benelux countries (Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg). The study paid particular attention to the challenges of measuring the transition to a low-carbon economy in cross-border areas as they have additional levels of complexity when it comes to measuring and monitoring their low-carbon transition. In cross- regions data collection hardly ever coincide with any single data gathering ‘institution’. Moreover, Belgium (Flanders, Brussels, Wallonia), the Netherlands, and Luxembourg have different indicator systems at the national level, and even more so at the more decentralised level which creates problems of data availability, data (in)consistency, and hence comparability. Progress is already noticeable in the two crossborder areas analysed in the study. In Ghent-Terneuzen the bio-base economy is contributing to the value of turnover and growth in employment in the environmental goods and services (EGS) sectors. In Alzette-Belval the construction industry is engaging in resource-efficient building design and certification. In other aspects there is evidence of progress, but this evidence is anecdotal, or patchy in its collection, and not able to be included in the dashboard metrics developed during the study and discussed in the paper.

Innovation at the edges of the metropolis: An analysis of innovation drivers in Sydney's peripheral suburbs

Abstract This article discusses using the concept of innovation ecosystems to assess innovation intensity in peripheral areas of metropolitan regions. Innovation is a significant driver of prosperity, industrial growth, and job creation. Emergent areas of new technology applications have their roots in entrepreneurial and innovative practices. However, studies have focused on the strengths that cities—and central business districts and inner suburbs in particular— have relative to the industries of the emerging knowledge economy, notably information technology and financial, property, and business services. Most of the time, the peripheral suburbs have been neglected. The results from a study of innovation drivers in Sydney, Australia, show that peripheral suburbs in metropolitan areas have local innovation processes that require specific planning measures to promote innovation intensity. Some of these processes are linked to local suburban characteristics that might not apply to the entire city or metropolitan region.

Regional collaboration infrastructure : effects in the Hunter Valley of NSW

Abstract Regional innovation has been incorporated into planning debates broadening the view of the crucial role that networks play in regional development as vehicles of knowledge and innovation. Research in this area has focused on the effects of the ‘innovative milieu’ (Maillat 1991; Kogut et al. 1993: Capello 1999; Camagni 1999) and recently into systems of innovation as a way to explain innovation at the regional level (Storper 1995: Landabaso 1997; de La Mothe & Paquet 1998: Cooke 2001). However, less research has been done into the meaning of regional collaboration structures, their measurement and their effects on regional development. This paper discusses collaboration systems such as clusters and development networks as they enable innovation in regions. The paper argues that collaboration infrastructure has tangible and intangible effects in regional development that make it a critical infrastructure to be developed in regions, especially those suffering economic decline. The paper will present the case of the Hunter region of NSW as an example of tangible and intangible effects of a collaboration network.

Pomorskie Region: Responding to Demographic Transitions Towards 2035

This paper outlines the findings of the Poland case study of the Pomorskie region for the international project, Local scenarios of demographic change. The Pomorskie region is located in the northern part of Poland on the coast of the Baltic Sea, regional boarders were established during the 1999 administrative reforms. Despite the region experiencing population growth, there is a growing share of elderly people in the social structure and the number of people in the pre-working age is decreasing. Although the authorities are aware of the demographic challenges, local and regional policy must be applied to manage the demographic transition, with emphasis being placed on infrastructure and services for the ageing population, developing the silver economy, encouraging life-long learning and examining the opportunities provided by being within the Baltic Sea region.