Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
important in the productive process is not new, as one of the classic works on eco-
nomics, emphasized.
By Capital is meant all stored-up provision for the production of material goods….It is the
main stock of wealth regarded as an agent of production rather than as a direct source of
gratification…… Capital consists in a great part of knowledge and organization….Knowl-
edge is our most powerful engine of production; it enables us to subdue Nature and force
her to satisfy our wants. Organization aids knowledge. (Marshall
1916
, p. 115)
Although Marshall's reference to subduing nature shows an early twentieth century
view, far from the sustainable concerns of the present, the link of capital to knowl-
edge seems to have been downplayed for decades. It has taken a century before
most locational theorists began exploring the implications of the idea in the context
of urban economic growth.
Advocates of the contemporary Knowledge City (KC) idea argue that the
con-
centration
of knowledge assets in an urban place is
not
its only key characteristic,
for this could apply to any university town. Instead, the definition above shows that
the advocates of a Knowledge City envisage it as a place where there is a
deliberate
process of development
that involves the upgrading of the human capital, infrastruc-
ture and organizations to
create knowledge
, not simply to teach or apply it in urban
places in general, although the term 'city' is often used as a shorthand term for the
places where this occurs. This approach is based on a new valuation of the impor-
tance of knowledge, not simply for personal development, but to continually create
new innovations within the city and its region. In the words of one of the early geog-
raphy pioneers of the concept, the result is to ensure that
“city development must…
become more intentional, less accidental and less determined by external forces….
(and)…shaped by endogamous processes”
(Knight
1995
, p. 227). This means that
KC advocates believe that this type of development should not only occur sponta-
neously. Rather, it requires effective management to constantly create and renew
IC and its needs in cities to ensure future growth. These requirements mean that
the KC concept does not simply involve an understanding of how knowledge can
be turned into innovations in some kind of continuous sequence; it also requires
an appreciation of the locational factors that are involved in this process, as well
as understanding how cities can assist and manage this process to attract and keep
knowledge-generating activity. This chapter outlines the development of these KC
ideas and then deals with five key issues in the field: a clarification of the nature
and applications of knowledge; the spatial patterns of knowledge activities; the fac-
tors that account for these patterns; the concept of the city as a capital resource; and
the key stages that are involved in the creation of a knowledge-based economy in
cities, which must be based on a knowledge-sharing culture. Within these sections
specific policies developed by particular cites provide examples of the approaches
that have been successful.
