The Importance of Infrastructures and Interaction Networks for Regional Competitiveness in the Knowledge Economy

Abstract

Economic processes, while not the sole influence on cities and regions, indisputably play a dominant role in their development. The change in economic structure and the accompanying spread of the knowledge economy are often discussed in relation to increasing spatial disparities, usually with an emphasis on metropolitan regions as being best equipped with the infrastructures necessary for the trade and transfer of, and access to knowledge. These include not only transport infrastructures, but especially telecommunication infrastructures and venues for transregional knowledge transfer, such as trade fairs, exhibitions and congresses that provide temporary spatial proximity. Because interaction relationships in the knowledge economy are based more on the transfer of knowledge than on the transport of goods, specific infrastructure facilities take on growing significance in terms of regional economic competitiveness. With the changing spatial-functional division of labour and sharing of knowledge, the relationship and interaction structures of the economy in space also undergo transformation.1 These structures and the infrastructure facilities they require are the focus of this paper.