The Role of Mayors in the Development of Innovation Zones

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Book: “The New Wave of Urban Competitiveness: The Role of Mayors in Developing Innovation Districts”

Today, innovation and its expanding influence—whether in the form of technological infrastructure development or the advancement of practical creative ideas in economic and social domains—are considered one of the core pillars of urban management and development. In addition, high population density and the diverse economic, financial, and socio-cultural flows driven by the creative class in public and urban spaces have elevated the importance of innovation in the public sphere. As a result, decision-making and planning without considering innovation and the role of active innovation actors has become nearly impossible. Therefore, over the past decade, the concept of innovation and its position in urban studies and governance has become a key focus for researchers and experts.

Among the valuable studies in this field is a guide published for mayors on the development of urban innovation districts. This guide, published by the Brookings Institution, addresses the key question: “How can U.S. cities enhance their competitiveness and strengthen themselves through the development of innovation districts?” It provides a set of managerial and planning guidelines.

This highly practical resource was translated into Persian in 2022 by the research team of the Urban Innovation Studio at Mammute Consulting and Accelerator Center, under the academic supervision of Sina Ataee, Senior Researcher in Urban Innovation. A digital version has been made freely available to the public. Based on the insights of this practical guide, the Mammute Urban Innovation Studio defined a research project focused on developing decision-making mechanisms and urban planning frameworks based on the concept of urban innovation and placemaking (case study: the historic port of Kong).

English PDF

Persian PDF

Translators:
Sina Ataee
Sadaf Rasteh Moghadam
Farzaneh Abedian Aval