Ideopolis: knowledge city-regions - Lisbon case study explores the position of Lisbon in the knowledge economy. It outlines the strengths of the city and the weaknesses, the role of public policy, how it answers the core research questions of the project and, finally, what other cities can learn from its experience.
Key findings include:
-
Physical knowledge city: Lisbon has some good business parks. Notably, these often include good services to improve the quality of life of people working there.
-
Diverse specialisation: As a capital city, the state sector is important, but Lisbon also has concentrations of knowledge industries, including an emerging ICT cluster.
-
Vibrant education sector: Many high tech companies are engaged with universities, but there are still concerns that the academic system rewards patronage rather than innovation.
-
Distinctive knowledge city offer: Lisbon is seen as internationally distinct, in part due to its role as the capital and events such as European Capital of Culture, 1994. Its reputation for high quality of life is not matched by the experiences of much of the population.
-
Leveraging strong connectivity: Transport internationally is good, but developments in the expanding city-region tend to be haphazard and respond to urban growth, rather than predicting it. Consequently, congestion is a real threat to quality of life.
-
Investing in communities: The city has some problems with social exclusion and the rich have a considerably higher quality of life in the city.