Aretian was recently referenced in a paper by the European Commission on Geographies of Innovation

Aretian research was recently quoted in another scientific paper led by Fatime Hegyi (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission), Victoria Galán-Muros (Chief Research and Analysis at UNESCO), Alep Blancas (Innovative Futures Institute and UNESCO), and Andrea Sagredo (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission). The focus of this paper is to explore the concept of Geographies of Innovation with specific reference to important cities worldwide: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Melbourne, and Stockholm. The paper defines Geographies of Innovation as planned and actively managed spatial clusterings of wide ranging innovative organisations and intermediaries which undertake collaborative activities within urban environments. The authors also state that Innovation Geographies include several types of environments such as parks, hubs, districts, clusters, and ecosystems, quite similar to the environments which Aretian identified.

Read the entire report here.

As explained in the report, the concept of Geographies of Innovation is an evolution of industrial and business clustering, combining theoretical and practical approaches. Not unlike the Innovation Districts and Clusters, Innovation Geographies encompass a larger geographic area. In addition, this report highlights the key differences between these areas of urban innovation. The authors also mention the importance of policies adapted to each environment to address specific challenges and those created during the COVID-19 pandemic. As cities around the world develop hubs and clusters of innovation, the customization of the recommendations becomes increasingly important as to allow each city to harness its own strengths and address potential weaknesses.

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