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Socio Spatial Implications For The Knowledge City

Socio Spatial Implications for the Knowledge City

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51 views2 pages

Socio Spatial Implications For The Knowledge City

Socio Spatial Implications for the Knowledge City

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mkss11_kli053
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| GRUADUATION PROJECT |

Socio-spatial implications for the knowledge city


The case of the Brainport Eindhoven region

The global transition from a manufacturing economy towards a knowledge economy


has shifted the balance of what factors are most important to cities and urban regions
in their racebid to remain competitive. Creative and innovative industries whichwhose
focuss is on research and development are the main driving forces of the knowledge
society, bearing social and spatial implications for the everyday environment. Apart
from that, it also repositions urban planning as a profession.

Dion van Dijk


Stijlgroep
Landscape and Urban Design
TU Delft

Changing time, changing role

As the market has shifted from being supply-driven to being


demand-driven, the needs of (future) users have taken a central role.
Coupled with the current and economic recession, this has a huge
impact on the way we develop projects. To put it plainly, with less
money available, fewer risks are taken. The structure of large-scale
developments is contracting. Big market parties and the government
are forced to be less ambitious and to involve more stakeholders such
as residents, small developers, and entrepreneurs. Therefore new
plans must be adopted to deal with this.
Todays urban planner needs to strike a balance between matters
of collective importance and individual liberties. He or she will
have to assume various roles: as a designer, as a draughtsman, and
as a curator. Their task is no longer to make a blueprint, but rather,
to create a flexible framework of conditions in which certain, yet
undefined, developments can take place. The role of the urbanist is
presently changing from that of planner to facilitator.

the following types of work environments: breeding places, creative


workshops, transactional environments, and places of production.
For urban planners and policy makers, the challenge then is to
ensure that a city and its surrounding region offer a rich variety of
work environments to support the development of creative industries
which, in turn, benefits the innovative output and entire economy of
the region.
Brainport Eindhoven Region: the Dutch Knowledge Powerhouse

In the master thesis Brainports Life Cycle, this model is applied


to the Brainport Eindhoven region, the powerhouse of the Dutch
knowledge economy. Multinationals like Philips, ASML and NXP
which collectively have the countrys highest expenditures in research
and development, are located in this region. This development is
globally recognized: last year the region was even designated as the
worlds smartest region.

Facilitating innovative activities

Research on entrepreneurship suggests the importance of the working


environment for creative and innovative industries, in particular.
This concerns not only the office space, but extends to include also
support facilities, meeting spaces, and the proximity to other relevant
professionals.
The spatial qualities of the working environment support companies
throughout their various phases of development, with each phase
characterized by a different type of climate with its own attendant
support function. According to the life cycle model proposed by
theorists Saris and Modder (2005), creative and innovative companies
undergo four distinct phases of development. Each phase is
characterized by an experimental or market-oriented character, and
an introverted or extroverted character. This categorisation results in
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However, figures also show a declining number of start-ups in the
Brainport Eindhoven region. This is potentially a serious threat to
that reputation, as entrepreneurship is seen as the economic engine
of the regional knowledge society. In order to reverse this trend,
future plans need to adjust to meet the demands of innovative
industries, and particularly those of small entrepreneurs and startups. As yet, the Brainport Eindhoven region does not offer the
different types of environments required by these creative and
innovative entrepreneurs. Local government policies have led to
the development of business and science parks on the periphery of
the city. The majority of the creative and innovative companies are
therefore located on these traditional industrial sites. The result is
that new industries are expected to find their feet in locations that do
not meet their needs in the start-up phase.
Meanwhile, the city of Eindhoven has in its existing urban
environment a host of potential locations for starting companies.
Centrally located small-scale industrial sites that are currently unused
or neglected can be transformed into new work environments
for start-ups and entrepreneurs, with the added advantage of the
sites the industrial past as identifier. And when the need arises,
entrepreneurs should be able to upgrade their own environment by
adding new programs such as exhibition halls, bars, or even living
spaces. The results would be new, attractive city areas that benefit
both entrepreneurs and city dwellers.
Due to their central location, it is even possible to connect the start-up
environment with other knowledge hotspots in the Brainport region,
such as the university campus, the conference centre Evoluon, and
creative district Strijp-S. The (partly existing) Bus Rapid Transit
network can connect these hotspots with infrastructural hubs like the
central train station and Eindhoven Airport, resulting in the creation
of a new urban knowledge network throughout the entire region.

Impulse for the city

This strategy of inner city development offers an alternative to the


current policy in the Brainport region. Through the redevelopment
of small-scale industrial sites, the region consists of more and
different work environments that give innovative entrepreneurs
the opportunity to develop from sole proprietorships into perhaps
multinational. In this way, the strategy responds to the needs
of individuals in the different phases of their development and,
ultimately, contributes to the innovative output of the region.
Perhaps the greatest benefit is that the entrepreneurs can make use of
activities, facilities, and amenities in the existing urban environment,
while their activities give a new pulse to the city and its inhabitants as
a whole.

References
Saris and Modder (2005) Creative spaces in the
Netherlands, ISOCARP

Figures
1. Life cycle of creative and innovative companies
Saris and Modder
2. Aerial view of Eindhoven author

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