Making Successful Cities Urban Economy

The APELDOORN: British-Dutch DialogueDr Cathy Garner FSS FRSARotterdam, 6-8th March 2011

Cities are the Competitors in the Global Economy

They compete for:

• Talent

• Mobile enterprises

• Mobile R&D and innovation assets

• Global events

• Positive reputationFor example :

• Metropolitan USA

– Covers 12% of the land

– Houses two-thirds of the population

– Generates 75% of GDP

Thinking Global: Acting Local

Competing Globally: Thriving Locally:

• Developing, nurturing, attracting and retaining talent

• Supporting business to innovate and be competitive

• Building on clusters of competence and competitive assets

• Being connected to global markets – physically and virtually

• Companies having the right products and services to meet global market demand

• Being socially and environmentally sustainable

• Having a distinctive and authentic brand

Ingredients and Recipes

• Vision ; Values and Aims

• Leadership across boundaries and organisations

• Key Ingredients:

– A diverse, resilient and innovative economy

– An open and inclusive society

– A sustainable environment

– A rich and diverse cultural offer – unique

• Connected institutions and people

• Urban form that meets different needs and provides spaces for serendipity

Resilient Cities

What Are Resilient Cities?

• Resilient cities are ones that are prepared. In an unexpected situation, a resilient city will respond quickly, make adjustments if needed, and continue to operate despite distressing conditions.

• Long-term resilience requires more than the ability to rebound from shocks to the system, it also requires the ability to adapt to subtle changes throughout time, and develop the city in ways which are flexible in the long term.

Resilience: ThroughA Diversity of Specialisms

• Clusters of Competencies

• Strong and Distinctive Assets

• Targets of Opportunity– Market demand

– Demographic trends

– Global pressures

• Knowledge Assets for Innovation– Know What

– Know How

– Know Who

– Know Feel

• Triple Helix partnerships

Thank You

Why Innovation?

• Economic Performance:

–In UK – 6% of companies delivered 50% growth (2002-2008)

–Employment Growth double in innovative companies (4.4% vs 2%)

–Sales Growth 10% versus 5.8% (NESTA, 2010,The Vital 6%)

Cities and Innovation

• Total Innovation:

–No longer only special people in special places

–Strength of weak ties – networks for global connection and local “spillovers”

–Clusters of creativity, competencies and firms ( cross sector)

• “Chance favours the Connected Mind” – Steven Johnson

A Tale of Two Cities

“ It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…”

Charles Dickens- A Tale of Two Cities