Rising knowledge cities : the role of urban knowledge precincts

Purposes: The paper seeks to investigate the changing and challenging spatial nature of the rising knowledge cities' knowledge precincts. Design/methodology/approach: The paper reviews the literature on recent knowledge precinct developments within the frame of innovation and urban economic competitiveness. The methodology develops a typological investigation and searches for useful insights for better understanding the fundamentals of knowledge precincts. The study exemplifies cases from Australia as well as other global best practices. Findings: The paper sheds light on the contemporary knowledge production of rising knowledge cities, and points out the changing spatial agglomeration of knowledge-intensive industries and the formation of new types of knowledge precincts as the spatial core of knowledge-based urban development. Originality: The paper provides an in-depth discussion on the changing spatial concepts of knowledge precincts and their vital role for the knowledge-based urban development of cities.