University and innovation district symbiosis in the context of placemaking: Insights from Australian cities

• Published in: Land use policy Vol. 99; p. 105109
• Main Authors: Pancholi, Surabhi, Yigitcanlar, Tan, Guaralda, Mirko, Mayere, Severine, Caldwell, Glenda Amayo, Medland, Richard
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2020; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Collaboration; Colleges & universities; Context; Districts; Innovation district; Innovations; Kelvin Grove Urban Village; Knowledge and innovation economy; Land use; Macquarie Park Innovation District; Matrices; Placemaking; Professional development; Public lands; Qualitative analysis; Symbiosis; University; Urban areas; Urban regeneration; Macquarie Park Innovation District; Innovation district; Knowledge and innovation economy; University; Placemaking; Kelvin Grove Urban Village
• ISSN: 0264-8377; 1873-5754
• DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.105109

•Universities play pivotal roles as facilitators of placemaking through societal integration in innovation districts.•Universities act as platforms for collaboration and exchange of knowledge by adopting extroverted and collaborative approaches.•Universities develop a sense of trust in the community and establishinnovation districts as democratic, cohesive and prosperous localities.•Universities contribute innovation districts by incorporating organisational and cultural benefits with the economic gains. Innovation districts are a new land-use type, where public and private actors work towards fostering, attracting, and retaining investment and talent to revitalise urban areas and boost knowledge/innovation economy activities. Developing innovation districts has become a popular urban strategy across the globe. They are often co-located with universities to act as a critical anchor in their socio-spatial and operational matrices. Despite the role of universities in the knowledge/innovation economy being researched extensively, university and innovation district symbiosis, particularly in the context of placemaking, is an understudied area of research. This paper aims to investigate the socio-cultural role played by anchor universities in facilitating placemaking in innovation districts. The study adopts a qualitative approach to analyse how stakeholders perceive Australian innovation districts. The findings reveal that: (a) Universities play pivotal roles as facilitators of placemaking through societal integration in innovation districts; (b) Universities act as platforms for collaboration and exchange of knowledge by adopting extroverted and collaborative approaches; (c) Universities help in developing a sense of trust within the community and establishing innovation districts as democratic, cohesive and prosperous localities; (d) Universities contribute to socio-cultural and organisational maturity of innovation districts.