Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
invention and development of electronic products in the Silicon Valley, California,
and on Route 128 around Boston, would seem to be linked to the spin-offs and asso-
ciations with major research universities in their vicinity. However, Mackun (
2013
)
has shown that their developmental profiles are radically different. Silicon Valley
has been characterised by greater risk-taking and partnerships, with open labour
markets and dense social networks of informal linkages. By contrast Route 128 was
more based on the growth of established firms with rigid hierarchies that internalize
many operations, characterised by the region's convention and self-reliance and a
greater dependency on federal research and defence contracts.
What this review has shown is that successful innovative activity comes from
a complex of related factors, some of which may be present in a particular area
and which are helped by the agglomerative advantages of the bigger cities. This
assumes that there are no serious diseconomies, such as produced by traffic conges-
tion, limited communication possibilities and dis-utilities such as high crime rates
and limited individual rights. Nevertheless, Rosen's work does throw new light on
the enduring value of what amounts to one of the intangible 'soft locational factors'
in helping to create success, namely the liberation of individual creativity and the
prospect of rewards for those who are successful (Brunt et al.
2011
). In this sense it
is hard to resist the comparison with the explosive period of medieval urban growth,
where it was often said that 'city air made a man free', not only because urban resi-
dents were freed from most of the constraints of rural feudal society, but that they
were able to use their freedom to carry out and expand trade for their own benefit
and profit.
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Conceptualizing Knowledge Cities
The previous section has shown the large number of factors that affect the develop-
ment and locations of inventive and innovative activity, which explain why some
locations, especially some cities with their strong infrastructures, varied networks
and specialist firms, have been more successful in developing knowledge industries
than others. But much of the current literature on this knowledge-based develop-
ment seems a-historical, given its focus on contemporary issues. This is unfortu-
nate. Any historical review of urban development will reveal that urban centres
have always been places where the knowledge assets of society have been concen-
trated. The biggest centres have always attracted able and creative people; many
have been centres of learning, initially in religious institutions or in the royal court,
later in secular institutions. In the more practical sense of 'knowledge as doing', the
political capitals of the past had the patrons who enabled art to flourish. They also
contained people with the skills to conquer and manage their dependencies, whilst
the centres of trade had what Vance (
1966
) described as an 'intelligence complex of
merchants' who knew where trade opportunities existed and had the knowledge to
finance and organize them, But late medieval large specialised trading cities, such
as Venice or Ragusa (now Dubrovnic), were not only successful because they only
had commercial acumen. Their knowledge also included the diplomatic expertise
