STATE OF THE WORLD'S CITIES 2012/2013 Prosperity

State of the World’s Cities 2012/2013
Box 3.2.1
Measuring Innovation and Creativity
In 2000 a “Creative City Index” was developed to measure
‘the imaginative pulse of cities’, combining a variety of
indicators ranging from political and public frameworks,
diversity, vitality and expression, openness and tolerance,
entrepreneurship, vision, liveability, learning and
professionalism, among 10 specific dimensions. In 2007,
Melbourne-based “2thinkNow” developed an “Innovation
Cities Program” along with an “Innovation Cities Index” in a
bid to enhance understanding of the links between innovation
and the way cities operate. The measure also uses a large
variety of indicators, involving cultural assets, infrastructure
and networked markets in areas such as commerce, finance,
food, the arts, health, technology, religion, the media, etc.
On this basis, cities are classified in five categories: ‘nexus’
(cities featuring critical innovations),’hub’ (cities that are
influential in key areas), ‘node’ (cities combining broadranging
performance and imbalances), ‘influencer’ (cities that
are competitive but unbalanced on the whole), and ‘upstart’
(cities with potential for future performance).
Source: UN-Habitat (2012) Decentralization in Iraq: Challenges and
Solutions for Federal and Local Governments, Nairobi: UN-Habitat
POLICy
A creative city must establish a balance between
‘hardware’ factors – infrastructure and technology –
and ‘software’ factors (including mind-set, dynamics of place, the
connection between thinkers and doers, and a change-friendly
environment). 7
THE FACTORS BEHIND URBAN INNOvATIvENESS
Innovation can emanate from a creative worker, a
community leader, a business person, an artist, a public
servant or a scientist, etc. Innovation can respond to a
specific problem, reduce risks, anticipate challenges, result
in new products or process, or harness existing or emerging
opportunities. For the purposes of urban prosperity,
innovation has a clear role in improved conditions for
populations and the way they live, work, move, relax and
more generally make the most of the urban advantage.
If its existing
creative capital is to be
POLICy
The culture of
creativity must
be embedded in the way
cities operate. 8
enhanced, or activated
where dormant, a city
should become a locus
where sociocultural
diversity can be staged,
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and where links can flourish among both individuals and
institutions. In practice, all of this requires well-adapted
physical environments, which in turn have to do with
urbanization economies9 and better urban planning. From
a more institutional point of view, support to knowledge
exchange and networking is another way of stimulating
creative capital, along with favourable conditions for
research and development. As for the productive sector,
creative stimulation can also derive from economies of
agglomeration and an entrepreneur-friendly environment.
It may come as no surprise that in Asia, most
local experts saw a strong link between research and
development (R&D), on the one hand, and enhanced
prosperity on the other, with public authorities and other
stakeholders playing significant roles in the areas of
business, industry and technology.
This was the case in Singapore, Hyderabad and
Bangalore (India), Shenzhen and Chongqing (China),
Gaziantep (Turkey) and Cebu (the Philippines). In
Singapore, gross expenditure on R&D increased from
1.9 per cent in 1990 to 2.8 per cent 2008 and three
per cent in 201010 , with the focus on applied research,
technology, sustainable urban living and ‘clean’ energy. 11
In Bangalore, the emergence of the city as a knowledge
hub is a visible impact of policy, entrepreneurship and
innovation. With more than 66 engineering colleges and
55 polytechnics, the city has developed as a centre for
scientific innovation, research in aeronautics and electronics
with strong public research facilities. 12 Biotechnologies
and computer/communications also feature highly in
Hyderabad, India’s pharmaceutical capital, with support
from central government and more than 40 research
and educational institutions. 13 Shenzhen has developed
an endogenous innovation strategy led by the state with
investments from government agencies, industries and
universities. In few years,
the city has developed a
high-tech, modern service
industry, actively promoting FACT industrial transformation
and upgrade, focusing
on electronics, biological
engineering and new
material technology.
The city has also made
important innovations
in the service industry
(finance, logistics and
UN-Habitat
survey shows
that five main factors
are at play when cities
innovate: innovative
urban management,
entrepreneurial capacity,
the promotion of
arts and culture, the
emergence of industrial
clusters, and research
and development (R&D).