MELBOURNE, Australia, Oct 26 /PRNewswire/ — Innovation Analysts 2thinknow
released today in an in-depth report, a 4 year global study of which cities
were winning the global innovation race and why. The centre-piece was a 162
indicator framework to build innovation cities globally.
Using this framework, Boston was identified as the world’s number one
innovation city out of 256 cities. San Francisco Bay Area and New York were
ranked as top nexus cities for innovation, as well as Toronto in Canada – and
a Washington D.C. that is increasingly critical in the U.S. innovation
economy.
Outside these cities, the report called for a Capitalist New Deal: helping
local business become global business – via sustaining local innovation by
building diverse start-up clusters within cities, not single enterprise towns.
Green-tech and clean-tech sectors were potential liberators for the U.S. and
Canadian cities.
Brighter spots were Philadelphia, Minneapolis-St Paul, Vancouver, Montreal,
Dallas-Fort Worth, Seattle, Portland and Ann Arbor, identified as key
innovation nodes competitive with Asian and European cities.
Failure to innovate would leave the U.S. chasing European cities in an
innovation race, just as Asian cities were advancing. U.S. cities have a large
infrastructure gap with Europe in air-travel, fast-rail, finance and mobility,
and competed in education.
Christopher Hire, innovation analyst and Executive Director at 2thinknow,
authors of the report, said that cities “want to innovate and profit from the
new era of networks and connectivity will need to be networked. Not just
digitally, but physically. The next high growth company – and next jobs – will
come from clusters of cities that are interconnected.”
“Cities that can inspire ideas, implement locally and network globally.”
In Asia and North-west Europe, digital mobility – an ability to be online
anywhere – was singled-out as a key driver in innovation-led economic growth.
Asian cities Kyoto, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were outpacing many
U.S. cities in the innovation race due to broadband, start-ups, ports, freight
and business approach.
Examining 31 innovation segments, the 2ThinkNow Innovation Cities Framework
applies 162 indicators in a structured analysis and planning framework for
measuring, defining and building an innovation city. For analysis this is
communicated as 3 factors – highly developed cultural assets, human
infrastructure – for mobility, education, technology – and networked markets.
Copies of the report are available for order at
http://report.innovation-cities.com
Image of Christopher Hire, Executive Director of 2ThinkNow presenting the
Innovation Cities Analysis Report: http://www.asianetnews.net/special-events
Media spokesperson:
Christopher Hire,
Executive Director,
2thinknow
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SOURCE 2thinknow
Media, Christopher Hire, Executive Director, 2thinknow,
Online: http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/10/26/idUS110124+26-Oct-2009+PRN20091026