Abstract
Innovation districts, as a particular place for knowledge-based urban development strategies, have been praised for promoting sustainable economic developments. They have, however, been criticized for contributing to gentrification, urban inequality, and other problems that hinder sustainability. There has been little research addressing how planners maintain economic sustainability and promote the social and environmental sustainability of innovation districts. This paper takes Hangzhou as a case study, using the policy zoning—a new zoning method based on suitability evaluation—to formulate the applicable place plan for building innovation districts. The results show that the policy zoning can help planners arrange the construction of innovation districts in certain urban areas and take the most targeted measures to improve the sustainability of possible innovation districts. These measures include either enhancing the foundations of the metropolitan area or promoting innovation development by referring to suitability evaluation results. Planning based on policy zoning is of benefit to the sustainability of innovation districts through avoiding the impulsive behavior of policymakers, as well as promoting the better distribution of development achievements among the people, rather than concentrating on land developers and stakeholders who pursue maximum profits.
Highlights
Accepted: 18 March 2021In the past half-century, since the crisis of Fordism, the knowledge economy has become the key to economic growth, and innovation has become the center for achieving sustainable socioeconomic development [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Of innovation districts and restrain the loss of social wealth caused by desires for quick profits, which is beneficial for sustainable development
It is worth thinking about the goal of sustainable KBUDs, or innovation districts is for the benefits of the most significant number of people or for minority stakeholders to profit from it? As a response, there have been some cities implementing strategies to limit the negative externalities of innovation districts, which are appreciated in this paper
Summary
In the past half-century, since the crisis of Fordism, the knowledge economy has become the key to economic growth, and innovation has become the center for achieving sustainable socioeconomic development [1,2,3,4,5,6]. The innovation spaces become the “highest and best use” to enhance the urban competitiveness according to many land-use policies and urban planning practices [7,8,9,10,11]. Since KBUD (knowledge-based urban development) has become an increasingly common element of urban planning and strategy making [7], innovation districts—as a new land-use type and a place-based strategy for urban renewal—. Combine KBUD with urban space and has become a global phenomenon in many cities. Innovation districts, focusing on growing jobs in productive, innovative, and traded sectors, have significantly contributed to sustainable economic developments [13,14,15]
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