Moving Esfahan toward knowledge-based urban development: the role of knowledge workers' needs

Abstract

In the global knowledge economy, knowledge workers are extensively seen as the primary factors to improve the welfare and competitiveness of cities. To attract and retain such industries and workers, cities produce knowledge-based urban development strategies, and therefore such strategising has become an important development mechanism for cities and their economies. This paper aims to contribute to ongoing knowledge-based urban development (KBUD) and KBUD-related discussions that has become more popular in the academic and professional literature around the world, but not yet in Iran. The specific focus of the study is therefore on ‘the ways of attracting and retaining knowledge and innovative workers in the knowledge economy by addressing their needs and desires in the contemporary urban context’. It surveys the potentials and constraints of Esfahan to become a knowledge city. The methodology develops a comprehensive investigation and searches for useful ideas for formulating better urban planning theory in knowledge era. This paper provides an in-depth discussion on the role of urban planning for providing a suitable urban space in cities for attracting knowledge workers during which it has revealed some guiding principles that definitely open a new horizon for developing the theory and practice of knowledge-based urban development.