Changing Economic Geography: Innovation Clusters Play Increasingly Important Role
The American economic geography is changing, argues urban theorist Richard Florida in a recent article for the Atlantic. Analogous to how the Great Depression precipitated a flight to the suburbs and how the post-industrial economic anemia of the 1970’s shriveled Rust Belt cities such as Buffalo, Detroit, and Cleveland, the current economic crisis promises to profoundly change the geographical organization of the United States. Florida argues that regional centers of innovation will play a crucial role in the post-crisis American economic recovery, a “great reset” that will reward cities that are dense, diverse, and collaborative, while punishing those that are homogeneous, diffuse, and isolated:
We need to encourage growth in the regions and cities that are best positioned to compete in the coming decades: the great mega-regions that already power the economy, and the smaller, talent-attracting innovation centers inside them—places like Silicon Valley, Boulder, Austin, and the North Carolina Research Triangle. Whatever our government policies, the coming decades will likely see a further clustering of output, jobs, and innovation in a smaller number of bigger cities and city-regions. But properly shaping that growth will be one of the government’s biggest challenges. In part, we need to ensure that key cities and regions continue to circulate people, goods, and ideas quickly and efficiently.
An interesting graphic included with the article documents the changing patent geography in the country since 1975, providing a glimpse at the regional clusters of innovation that power American economic competitiveness. As the country has progressed from a manufacturing economy to one based on scientific and technological products, patent activity has been increasingly focused in a handful of innovation centers, such as Silicon Valley, Boston, and Raleigh-Durham. Additionally, most of the innovation clusters have sprouted up around major research universities, indicating the essential role that educational institutions play in spurring innovation.
The Obama administration would be wise to take Richard Florida’s message to heart. The current economic crisis has sparked a fundamental shift in the economic geography of the United States, a geography that is more than ever reliant on the collaborative networks between universities, companies, and financiers that are the foundation of our most innovative cities and regions. Supporting the development of these networks and the cities that grow along with them should be a top priority for our new government.
For more on why place matters, see Maryann Feldman’s recent article for Science Progress. For a comprehensive discussion of innovation clusters: Regional Centers of Innovation 101.
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