7 Things You Should Read About Creating Innovative Cities

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The world of innovation has changed significantly in the last decade. As new technologies emerge, the lines between technology and geography have blurred considerably, facilitating the rise of economic tech-titans like Silicon Valley. However, as the tech landscape continues to shift, innovation has expanded beyond the walls of West Coast startups and into cities and towns across the country. As these technologically savvy cities—aptly known as “urban innovation districts”—begin to establish themselves, it is necessary to understand what has happened and what comes next.

Here is what you need to read to understand how the cities of tomorrow are being built today.

The Rise of Urban Innovation Districts

By Bruce Katz and Julie Wagner, Harvard Business Review

Innovation has been dominated in the past by suburban spots like Silicon Valley or Murray Hill. But the future of innovation lies in cities — hubs of economic, cultural and financial progress that have the right ingredients for innovation.

Downtown is for People

By Jane Jacobs, Fortune

This classic 1958 article describes what redevelopment plans in cities across the United States will look like, and argues they will make urban centers devoid of personality. As cities re-invent themselves today, are we falling into the same trap?

Cities Find Rewards in Cheap Technologies

By Nanette Byrnes, MIT Technology Review

As the populations within cities continue to rise, urban centers will need to find new ways to spur technological and economic growth. While this certainly sounds like an expensive undertaking,  building the cities of the future may not be as costly as you would expect.

Head of the Dragon: The Rise of New Shanghai

By Daniel Brooks, Places Journal

In 1989, Shanghai was little more than a shadow of its former cosmopolitan glory. But a renewed interest in urban development transformed the city from a withered husk into a global model of metropolitan innovation.

Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital

By Sheri Fink

Sheri Fink’s award-winning Five Days at Memorial is a heartrending account that displays the failures of an American city during its darkest hour, and offers an important  lesson for those planning the cities of tomorrow.

The Surprising Cities Creating the Most Tech Jobs

By Joel Kotkin, NewGeography.com

The cities that will create tomorrow’s tech jobs probably aren’t the ones you think. The cities with the fastest growing industries are places like Houston and Raleigh North Carolina, where low cost of living meet friendly business climates.

Here’s which States are the Most Innovative in America

By Gary Shapiro, The Washington Post

The need to create innovative cities has come to dominate policy conversations on urban development, but for a true paradigm shift to occur, attention must also be paid to the rise of innovation at the state-level.