Case Study

Ideopolis: knowledge city-regions - Watford case study  explores Watford’s strengths, challenges and opportunities within the framework of the nine Ideopolis drivers. It makes policy recommendations and shows what other cities can learn from Watford’s experience.

Key findings include:

• Physical knowledge city: There are some good business parks in the town, and housing is relatively good.
• Building on what’s there: In some areas Watford has moved up the value chain. The traditional publishing industry has diversified into multimedia sectors. But it is still reliant on corporate head quarters that are not particularly embedded in the town.
• High skill organisations: Watford residents can work in London, and this increases opportunities enormously.
• Distinctive knowledge city offer: Watford is not distinct from other similar towns and this is a weakness of the town.
• Leveraging strong connectivity: Watford is very well connected, but its ongoing growth may lead to congestion, threatening this strength.
• Leadership around a knowledge city vision: Watford has an elected mayor, but lacks the geographical coverage or economic weight to coordinate growth properly.