2022 Spring Issue - 94

Retooling
Retooling
Innovation Districts
Innovation hubs bring public and private research institutions together with
cutting-edge startups and developers to reshape cities.
CHAD BURKE AND ZACHARY ZETTLER
The last decade has seen the emergence of what
researchers at the Brookings Institute call " a new
geography of innovation. " Once sequestered in the
suburbs on corporate research campuses, the most
innovative companies and entrepreneurs are finding
their way back to denser urban areas-and into innovation
districts.
Not just a geographical designation, but also
Part of the Cincinnati Innovation
District, the Digital Futures
Complex fosters connections
between the building's
researchers and the surrounding
community with ground-level
amenities and a large plaza to
support public events.
a complex partnership, investment, and city planning
strategy, as described by Bruce Katz and Julie
Wagner, these districts " are geographic areas where
leading-edge anchor institutions and companies cluster
and connect with startups, business incubators,
and accelerators. They are also physically compact,
transit-accessible, and technically wired, and offer
mixed-use housing, office, and retail. "
This type of development is not just about innovation
or lab space; and it is not just universities or
research institutions that are driving this change.
Rather, innovation districts constitute a form of
development that brings public and private research
institutions (i.e., universities, hospitals, government
institutes) together with cutting-edge businesses,
startups, developers, and state and local leaders to
invest in and reshape cities. The factory jobs that historically
defined the economic life of cities in the U.S.
Midwest have been gone for a generation. Innovation
districts point the way forward-not only in terms of
generating solutions to our most pressing problems,
but also in terms of fostering the growth of sustainable
jobs.
Responding, in part, to the desire of highly soughtafter
research professionals for a more balanced,
integrated life, innovation districts look beyond the
office (and beyond the lab) to entice researchers with
complete neighborhoods-places where one can live
and work, catch a show, haunt a local coffee shop,
and relax in a park.
There are, of course, numerous other benefits-
not only for workers, but also for each of the institutions
and actors involved in their development.
Universities find increased access to capital for new
projects while developers find reliable, long-term
tenants; businesses access top researchers while
students and researchers benefit from their practical
experience. Also, if done well, innovation districts
can be a benefit to their neighborhoods by offering
new resources (coworking spaces, meeting spaces,
educational programming, and other amenities) while
helping advance current residents' career paths.
94
URBAN LAND
SPRING 2022
GBBN
2022 Spring Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2022 Spring Issue
