Innovation Districts Research Articles

Acoustic design of an innovative classroom: the Piscopia Corner in Milan

This paper reports on the measurements, design, and testing of a highly innovative classroom: the Piscopia Corner - Augmented Education Lab, built in the new MIND (Milano Innovation District) district in Milan, Italy. This educational space is designed to leverage connectivity, artificial intelligence, and sensing to enhance sustainability, inclusivity, and efficacy. As key use cases of the Piscopia Corner pivot on real-time speech transcription and translation of interactions, acoustics plays a key role. Improving classroom acoustic conditions is crucial for enhancing speech clarity, promoting student focus, and relieving teachers of vocal effort. The Italian standard UNI 11532-2:2020 states proper requirements for multimedia classrooms such as the one involved in the present case. This space aims for superior speech intelligibility, accommodating multiple speakers and addressing the needs of individuals with hearing impairments or language barriers, with a high outward intelligibility. The Piscopia Corner is a modern classroom meeting the stringent requirements of interactive audio-video activities and inclusive principles. The treated suspended ceiling integrated with sensor technology required a proper mix of materials to balance the sound absorption in frequency and improve speech intelligibility to achieve category A4 limits.

New method of evaluating spatial quality for innovation districts: A case study of Haidian and Chaoyang districts, Beijing

Science and technology innovation has become the core driving force of urban development, and innovation spaces as the carriers of innovation activities have evolved continuously, forming the emerging model of innovation districts in recent years. However, the evaluation standard of innovation spaces has not changed with the evolution of the model, and the evaluation method that focuses on economic benefits still dominates the mainstream. As a result, the construction of innovation spaces around these indicators and guidelines lags behind the advanced level.In this paper, we have systematically sorted out the relevant research progress of innovation districts, established a set of cases with global typicality, combined the dual attributes of “innovation characteristics + urban characteristics,” constructed a research framework for the spatial quality of innovation districts based on the dual perspectives of “innovation space,” and summarized the spatial quality evaluation model through analysis. We do an empirical study on Haidian District to find out how well innovation districts work in terms of space, find typical clusters, and come up with the most important aspects of their space quality. In order to observe the applicability of this method, it is also applied to the urban health check-up in Chaoyang District, Beijing. Through the expert seminar, the evaluation and analysis method of spatial quality of innovative urban areas is further verified and discussed. The results show that the integration of innovative urban areas and urban structures, and the collaborative development of innovative industries and high-quality spaces are the keys to promote the common development of innovative economy and cities. The new evaluation method can effectively measure the quality of innovation spaces, and has certain transferability.

Predictive building energy management with user feedback in the loop

Retrofitting buildings with predictive control strategies can reduce their energy demand and improve thermal comfort by considering their thermal inertia and future weather conditions. A key challenge is minimizing additional infrastructure, such as sensors and actuators, while ensuring user comfort at all times. This study focuses on retrofitting with intelligent software, incorporating the users’ feedback directly into the control loop. We propose a predictive control strategy using an optimisation-based energy management system (EMS) to control thermal zones in an office building. It uses a physically motivated grey-box model to predict and adjust thermal demand, with individual zones modelled using an RC-approach and parameter estimation handled by an unscented Kalman filter (UKF). This reduces deployment effort as the parameters are learned from historical data. The objective function ensures user comfort, penalises undesirable behaviour and minimises heating and cooling costs. An internal comfort model, automatically calibrated with user feedback by another UKF, further improves system performance. The practical case study is an office building at the ”Innovation District Inffeld”. Operation of the system for one year yielded significant results compared to conventional control. Thermal comfort was improved by 12% and thermal energy consumption for heating and cooling was reduced by about 35%.

Exploring the Concept of Pardis Innovation Districts: Typology and Conceptual Model

Innovation districts are experiencing growth and expansion. Currently, these districts are not only centers for innovation, commerce, research and education; but they have also evolved into hubs for recreational, cultural and social activities. However, the various dimensions of innovation districts remain relatively understudied and ambiguous. The aim of this study is to frame the concept of the innovation district and provide a conceptual model of it. Identifying the different features of innovation districts and providing a synthesis of them is another objective of this research. Additionally, addressing the important question of how to create and expand innovation districts is part of the current research objectives. The data collection method employed in this study is systematic review. 25 sources were reviewed as the final sources to primarily address the objectives of this research. The method for data analysis and articles used is the structure of qualitative content analysis. Various definitions and concepts of innovation zones were analyzed for this study. In the next stage, the concept of innovation zones was examined based on its existential philosophy, and the initial conceptual model of the innovation zone was extracted. This conceptual model includes 5 dimensions: specifications, actors, assets, capabilities, and characteristics. This study also describes policies and planning schemes to improve participation and cooperation in innovation zones.

Art for art’s sake? Artists as partners in urban regeneration

ABSTRACT Responding to the polarized view of artists either being displaced or co-opted in urban regeneration, this paper unveils a middle ground in which artists also act as partners or co-producers in these processes. We illustrate this intermediary role in property development processes with reference to a case study of the Seaport Innovation District in Boston by drawing upon a survey of resident artists and interviews with artists, planners, architects and economic development specialists. The paper makes two contributions to the literature. It offers a fresh look at the dialectical relationship between cultural and economic modes of production by more fully integrating consideration of artists’ sensibilities and practice with those of a host of built environment disciplinary practices including architects, planners and real estate developers. As a result, it extends extant analysis of urban regeneration-led gentrification from its urban planning, geography and sociology disciplinary roots into the disciplines of architecture and real estate. Our findings lead onto a research agenda centered on consideration of the intermediary roles played by creative and cultural sector actors and how creativity might be captured to positive effect, in the production of the built environment.

From walking to staying: The impact of spatial qualities on socio-spatial segregation in innovation districts

Innovation districts can spur urban economic growth but present challenges like socio-spatial segregation. To mitigate segregation, we emphasize the importance of “staying activities” such as sitting, playing, and relaxing, over transient activities like walking or cycling in the design of public spaces. Focused on One-north, an innovation district in Singapore, we examine how different spatial qualities influence the “staying activities” of diverse socioeconomic groups. Using a GeoAI workflow that integrates various data-sources with machine learning and AI, we assess thirteen spatial quality indicators and their impact on staying activities. Our deep neural network (DNN) model, which achieves an 83.74% accuracy rate, confirms the effectiveness of these indicators in capturing the co-location of staying activities between diverse income groups in One-north. Our findings reveal that typical markers of well-designed public spaces, such as visual diversity and greenery, do not consistently enhance staying activities. Their effectiveness varies across One-north and is shaped by the unique functional contexts and land-use types of each sector in the district. Our research thus highlights the necessity for context-specific designs that encourage meaningful social interactions and reduce socioeconomic segregation. Our proposed GeoAI workflow can assist in the proactive evaluation of design strategies, supporting decision-making prior to major construction projects.

Studying Essential Assets and Startup Communities of Korean Urban Innovation Districts

Studying Essential Assets and Startup Communities of Korean Urban Innovation Districts

How Remote Working and Placelessness Affect Future Planning for Innovation Districts: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Urban areas that foster economic growth through innovation are receiving more attention lately. Consequently, Innovation Districts (IDs), as place-based strategies for economic development, have become a crucial intervention in urban planning and land-use policy. The literature highlights the typology of IDs and the built environment attributes that shape them. However, there needs to be more understanding of the role of the built environment amid growing remote working and placelessness. Thus, this research conducts a systematic literature review to investigate how the future planning for Innovation Districts will be influenced and how it can tackle the challenge of rising placelessness.

Understanding the role of ‘sense of place’ in the production and consumption of innovation districts

ABSTRACT Innovation districts are purposefully designed places that unite businesses, research institutions, local communities, and cultural assets in one bounded location. While providing numerous benefits, the ultimate outcome of a successful innovation district is the creation of a robust, collaborative, and sustainable innovation ecosystem. Despite their importance, academic comprehension of innovation districts as dynamic places, particularly the relationship between person and place, remains limited. Accordingly, this research addresses this gap by exploring innovation districts through the theoretical lens of sense of place. In doing so, this paper seeks to reframe the understanding of the person-place relationship by drawing on concepts including place attachment, place identity, place dependence, and social bonding. An original propositional framework is introduced, which positions sense of place of an innovation district as an outcome of established (place dependence, place identity, place attachment) and emerging (functional, cognitive, and affective social bonding) place dimensions. Furthermore, the framework delineates critical developmental stages and anticipates innovative and social outcomes associated with these districts. Conceiving sense of place within innovation districts as a holistic consequence of their design, management, and utilisation not only enhances these districts’ economic and social vitality but also ensures their sustainability and resilience in the face of changing economic and social conditions.

University City: History, Race, and Community in the Era of the Innovation District

University City: History, Race, and Community in the Era of the Innovation District

ECOSSISTEMA DE INOVAÇÃO E A INDÚSTRIA CRIATIVA

The purpose of the present research was to investigate the agents involved in an innovation ecosystem within the realm of the creative industry, drawing on relevant international literature. The interest emerged from the need to assess the existence of international examples identifying new innovative protagonists. To this end, a systematic review of publications indexed in the Web of Science database was undertaken, using the content analysis method based on Bardin (2016). After developing the protocol for filtering and analysis, 46 articles published on the platform between 2020 and 2024 were identified and examined. It is possible to observe that the discussion about innovation ecosystems and the creative industry transcends regional boundaries, addressing the need to integrate both urban and rural areas. This integration is achieved through the creation of innovation districts, innovation zones, creativity collectives, creative cities, and smart cities, all spaces guided by sustainability concerns, with the purpose of unifying the interests of industry, civil society, government, and academia. For the effective generation of innovative products, it becomes indispensable to have creative professionals endowed with specific managerial skills, supported by well-defined business models and organizational flows. Furthermore, it is essential to maintain constant attention to aspects related to intellectual property rights and the implementation of public policies that promote the development of the creative industry.

리빙랩에서의 집단학습과 매개 활동에 대한 사례연구

Objectives A group of various stakeholders itself cannot automatically guarantee learning for co-creation. For the creation of collective knowledge, intermediary activities that can interconnect and integrate several subjects with different interests, backgrounds, experiences, and knowledge are essential. Living Lab is a place of collective learning based on the horizontal cooperative relationship between private, public, industry, and academia, and is a representative form of co-creation. However, in the case of Living Lab in Korea, research from the perspective of collective learning through co-creation has hardly been conducted. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the collective learning of Living Lab and derive implications, focusing on intermediary activities. Methods A qualitative case study was conducted on the ‘Smart Farm Planning Living Lab for Revitalizing the Old Urban Community’ held in Innovation District, Incheon. In order to structure interactions for collective learning, ac-tivities and tasks for each stage of the Living Lab were organized around the process and results of collective learn-ing, and then classified and analyzed as detailed intermediary activities of facilitating, configuring, brokering ac-cording to the definition of Hakkarainen & Hyysalo(2016). Results In all three stages of Living Lab, the proportion of facilitating was the highest, and brokering were common. This can be interpreted as a result showing that intermediary activities that facilitate actors' activities and broker connections between actors are essential in the process of co-creation to solve social problems. Next, through the three stages of Living Lab, all detailed intermediary activities of the facilitating, configuring, brokering appeared, and it was confirmed that the proportion of detailed intermediary activities was different for each stage of progress. This shows that it is necessary to pay attention to the importance and multifacetedness of interme-diary activities that are overlooked in co-creation through Living Lab. Conclusions This study supports the results of previous studies that the intermediary activities that contribute to collecitve learning and co-creation of Living Lab need to be extended and understood into three types: configuring and brokering as well as facilitating. In addition, the diversity of intermediary activities has important implications for the practical guidelines for Living Lab operation, which are characterized by a spiral development structure that changes according to the results of interaction and learning. Finally, the recognition of the intermediary's unique interactional expertise and the need for research on practical curriculum development and field operation guide-lines based on it were proposed.

Are Innovation and Creative Districts New Scenarios for Sustainable Urban Planning? Bogota, Medellin, and Barranquilla as Case Studies

Creative and innovation districts are focused on boosting local economies. However, they also pay attention to the global scale since this local identity of the Orange Economies gives them added value and competitiveness globally, as well as international projection and visibility of products, services, and new technologies associated with creativity and innovation. Thus, this study reviews three case studies of the cities of Barranquilla, Bogota, and Medellin in Colombia, seeking to characterize the creative and innovation districts. The methodology used is strictly qualitative, resorting to the characterization of the polygons and the analysis of public policies. This study describes the general aspects of creative and innovation districts in Colombia. Then, it identifies the forces for CD and ID development in three Colombian cities and the drivers for urban sustainable transformation. The main purpose of this study is to understand if innovation and creative districts are new scenarios for sustainable urban planning.

Smart cities as spatial manifestations of 21st century capitalism

Globally, smart cities attract billions of dollars in investment annually, with related market opportunities forecast to grow year-on-year. The enormous resources poured into their development consist of financial capital, but also natural, human and social resources converted into infrastructure and real estate. The latter act as physical capital storage and sites for the creation of digital products and services expected to generate the highest value added. Smart cities serve as temporary spatial fixes until new and better investments opportunities emerge. Drawing from a comprehensive range of publications on capitalism, this article analyzes smart city developments as typifier of 21st century capital accumulation where the financialization of various capitals is the overarching driver and ecological overshoot and socio-economic undershoot are the main negative consequences. It closely examines six spatial manifestations of the smart city – science parks and smart campuses; innovation districts; smart neighborhoods; city-wide and city-regional smart initiatives; urban platforms; and alternative smart city spaces – as receptacles for the conversion of various capitals. It also considers the influence of different national regimes and institutional contexts on smart city developments. This is used, in the final part, to open a discussion about opportunities to temper the excesses of 21st century capitalism.

Technological barriers to creating regional resilience in digital platform‐based firms: Compound of performance sensitivity analysis and BIRCH algorithm

AbstractEntrepreneurial ventures face various problems contributing to the regional resilience of their districts. Among such firms are digital platform‐based businesses that could have exponential impacts—indeed, if they succeed in overcoming the barriers. Thus, this study aims to identify the major technological barriers to creating regional resilience in Iran's innovation districts. This study uses the analytical hierarchy process method and an unsupervised machine learning algorithm, as well as the Delphi technique. Online panel surveys are conducted to collect data from experts in the field of online social platforms. The findings show that digital literacy barriers and cultural barriers are the criteria with the uppermost and lowermost importance. Performance sensitivity analysis illustrates that considering the C1 and C4 criteria, the Digikala platform is more resistant to technological barriers compared to other platforms. Furthermore, based on C2 and C3 criteria, it can be stated that the Snapp platform reveals better resistance than the other platforms. The importance‐performance matrix also shows that all platforms need more attention in terms of performance. Besides, the results of the BIRCH analysis show that the present model's accuracy is 88%. Meanwhile, outputs show that experts are divided into four groups or four different thoughts.

Names of the urban innovation districts

Names of the urban innovation districts

Research of the Experience of Creation, Classification of Foreign Campuses and Peculiarities of their Financing

In modern conditions of spatial development, university campuses have undergone significant changes, representing not only platforms for joint research of science and business, but also the centers of urban innovation districts, which form an innovative community in the city and adjacent territories, having a significant impact on the socio-economic development of the region. The purpose of this work is to study foreign experience in the creation, operation and financing of foreign campuses for further application in the implementation of projects for the creation of new university–type campuses on the territory of the Russian Federation. The objectives of the research in the article were: the issues of systematization of foreign campuses by type of territorial location, scale, type of settlement and architecture; comparative grouping of infrastructure in foreign and Russian university campuses; financing mechanisms for the creation and operation of foreign campuses. Methodology – a system of scientific methods for grouping infrastructure facilities on foreign campuses, tabular synthesis of accounting and analytical information on the availability and movement of income and expenditure of national budgets, based on the best foreign experience. Within the framework of this article, the authors assessed the stages of creation and commissioning of campuses based on the experience of a number of countries: China, South Korea, Japan, France, Finland, Austria, which allows us to conclude that flexibility and diversity in design schemes in accordance with local characteristics, commissioning and modernization of campus facilities in Russia. As a result of generalization of the best world practice in the field of creation and functioning of university campuses, the article develops recommendations for assessing the appropriateness of financing and evaluating the effectiveness of budgetary funds of university campuses in the Russian Federation.

The Hubs of Transformation Dictated by the Innovation Wave: Boston as a Case Study

Cities have become nodes of global networks, standing at the intersection points of the flows of capital, goods, workers, businesses, and travelers, making them spots where innovation, progress and economic development occur. Design emerges as an essential feature in this process, which this manuscript defines as the ‘laboratorization of cities’, a cutting-edge urban development paradigm that emphasizes cities as dynamic laboratories for innovation and experimentation. This study explored the spatial hubs of transformation within the knowledge economy, providing an overview of the current models of innovation spaces before focusing on the innovation district of one of the cities that are riding the innovation wave, namely Boston, USA. Information was gathered from observations, exploratory interviews with key stakeholders, and on-desk data. The study has significant implications, spanning from informing global urban development strategies to impacting regional economic planning and national policies. It provides valuable insights into how design, innovation, and urban development are interconnected, potentially reshaping how cities and regions approach their growth in the current knowledge-driven era. Useful lessons can be drawn from the case study analysis, allowing to define valuable tools for policymakers, a forward-looking perspective on the future of the laboratorization of cities and the evolving role of design, providing a roadmap for cities aiming to position themselves as global innovation hubs.

University City: History, Race, and Community in the Era of the Innovation District by Laura Wolf-Powers

University City: History, Race, and Community in the Era of the Innovation District by Laura Wolf-Powers

Assessing the Potential for Developing Innovation Districts at the City Scale by Adapting a New Sustainable Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Method

Excellent previous case studies of innovation districts have provided a foundation for the integration of innovation and urban development. However, few researchers have evaluated the potential for developing innovation districts in inner city spaces. In this study, taking Qingdao as an example, the adaptive cycle theory was combined with entrepreneurial ecosystem theory to form a sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem (SEE) framework, including the three criteria of conditions, outputs, and outcomes. This framework allows for the effective identification of key factors and areas within cities that influence the development of innovation districts. The results showed that the potential for developing innovation districts showed a concentric trend, i.e., higher in the downtown, highest in the suburbs, and lowest in the outer suburbs. Comparative analysis revealed that innovation sources were a key factor in the development of Qingdao’s innovation districts. In terms of cluster analysis, the northern and southwestern clusters in the suburbs were in the conservation (K) phase, and the eastern and downtown clusters were in the exploitation (r), suggesting that the former was the preferred location for innovation districts. This study facilitates the establishment of site-specific innovation districts at key locations to enhance the success of decision making.