How innovation can drive economic regeneration.
The UK can learn valuable lessons from the way the US creates dynamic, inclusive, and engaging urban environments. We visited the innovation-first urban regeneration waterfront districts in Boston and its neighbouring Massachusetts city of Cambridge with the Earls Court Development Company to find out more.
Seaport, Boston
POSSIBILITIES
Designing for innovation.
Boston is the oldest major port in the Western Hemisphere and helped Boston to grow as a city. Once home to thriving fishing wharfs, the trade of the Boston district of Seaport declined in the 20th century, becoming primarily a parking lot on the edge of the water. Now it is a symbol of Boston’s transformation, an innovation district, as is its neighbour Kendall Square. The regeneration of these areas, and Cambridge nearby, centred around building innovation hubs and creating walkable neighbourhoods to give people places to connect and collaborate.
Effective urban design for innovation prioritises opportunities for people to connect, to stimulate collaboration and interaction. In Boston and Cambridge, newly planned developments such as the MIT Volpe project and Harvard Enterprise Research Campus prioritise the pedestrian experience and walkability, improving the quality of the public realm and increasing the potential for people to bump into each other and meet informally outdoors. The Cambridge Innovation Center and District Hall in Boston include flexible workspaces and communal areas to support innovation and were pinpointed as pivotal to the establishment of the innovation districts. Boston’s famous university, MIT, is a catalyst for these innovation hubs across the city attracting entrepreneurs and start-ups spinning out their ideas, from campus to boardroom.
The experiences in Boston and Cambridge clearly illustrate how innovation-focused developments can revitalise urban areas, creating hotspots of economic activity and growth. Innovation districts offer high-skilled jobs and foster a young, vibrant talent pool. In the Boston waterfront area this has enabled the economy to diversify post de-industrialisation, with the innovation district sitting alongside the remaining seafood industry.
Effective urban design for innovation prioritises opportunities for people to connect, to stimulate collaboration and interaction.
Innovation-driven projects attract significant investment from both public and private sectors, contributing to regeneration through job creation and skills opportunities. Furthermore, the establishment of a successful innovation district often leads to increased commercial values. The examples of Kendall Square and Seaport showed that companies, particularly those in the high value technology and life sciences sectors, are willing to pay higher rates to be in the area and have access to the innovation networks, knowledge and expertise.
However, this concentration of high value activity can potentially introduce social risks. The Seaport in Boston highlights the need for integration of social engagement when designing for innovation. While the regeneration project has brought new business and economic growth to the area, there are concerns about residential and commercial affordability and lack of progress towards addressing inequality across the city. On the ground, this can manifest itself in a corporate town feeling, with little buzz and life. A more organic, bottom-up approach can be part of the solution, ensuring that the development and innovation economy is accessible to local communities and entrepreneurs, rather than relying on an influx of talent and business from outside. This highlights a need to ensure that even when affordable housing is provided, housing is also accessible to the middle ground of academics and graduates, key groups that are crucial to ensuring the innovation district thrives.
Earl's Court, London
Applying the innovation model in the UK.
Several UK projects are already leading the way in innovation-driven development, setting trends that reflect the insights gained from the US. By learning from their successes and challenges, we can better guide projects that are dynamic, inclusive, and engaging. The work on the Earls Court Masterplan serves as a forward-thinking example of applying these strategies. By incorporating mixed-use planning, sustainable design, and a focus on proximity and connectivity, the Earls Court masterplan aims to create a dynamic urban environment that promotes innovation and leverages these trends.
This innovation-first approach offers an opportunity for developments in UK cities looking to transition from traditional industries to knowledge-based economies. Projects like the Bristol Temple Quarter and Manchester’s Oxford Road Corridor demonstrate how innovation can drive urban regeneration and resilience. These spaces must adapt to the evolving needs of startups and entrepreneurs, supporting growth across the innovation pipeline. This business growth and increase in productivity can act as an engine for broader economic growth and regeneration.
But, for innovation-focused development to have a long-term future, it must also be socially resilient. Placing social value and inclusivity at the core of innovation-oriented development projects is key to ensuring that innovation is a driver of true regeneration rather than a force of gentrification and exclusion. This is instrumental to achieving the broader vision of sustainable and resilient urban development and in the UK.
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