Knowledge-based Development: Policy and Planning Implications for Cities

Abstract

The paper will present a new approach to city development focusing on knowledge-based development. The paper will present a conceptual framework and methodology for defining and assessing a city's knowledge base, i.e. its knowledge resources, knowledge cultures, core competencies and their local and global linkages. The approach draws from the experience of US cities and is being elaborated while undertaking strategic diagnostics of knowledge-based development in several cities for the cities of Amsterdam and Delft, then for the EC-FAST MONITOR study on the Future of European Cities and presently by the city of Vienna. The paper will present key findings from studies of the transformation from production to knowledge in several types and sizes of cities including New York and Cleveland in the US and Amsterdam, Delft, Lille, Lyon, Barcelona, Genoa, Milan and Vienna in Europe. Implications of knowledge-based development for cities and regions will be summarised and the need for a policy framework for cities at the Community level will be explored. Some guiding principles for city development in an open and increasingly knowledge-based global society will be outlined.