My involvement in high tech and innovation districts dates back to the beginning of my career – where I worked with the City of Vancouver to study and draft early think pieces and policy drafts for the new high tech industrial zone in the city. I then worked on the New Monaco project for 4 years building relationships with high tech companies all over Cascadia.
The mythology of these “innovation districts” runs deep and is highly seductive, however, for the proliferation of the firms involved in the digital economy and the attempts to create innovation districts in every city of any size, few succeed.
The Project for Public Spaces just released a great summary of 8 key principles to creating a successful one.
www.pps.org/blog/eight-placemaking-principles-for-innovation-districts/