Place quality in innovation clusters: An empirical analysis of global best practices from Singapore, Helsinki, New York, and Sydney

Digital disruption has accelerated the transition from a manufacturing-based neoclassical economy to an innovation and knowledge generation based one. Urban discourse, at the same time, has focused on the design of appropriate spaces to foster knowledge economy. Innovation clusters, in consequence, have paid further attention to cater for the needs of knowledge industries and workers including particular care on quality-based issues to attract them. Despite the lack of a comprehensive understanding on place quality in the cluster scale is evident, academic literature focused on the quality-based issues mainly at the region and city scales. This paper aims to identify and classify indicators of place quality at the cluster scale through a review of the literature, and placing some of the global best practices under the microscope i.e., One-North (Singapore), Arabianranta (Helsinki), DUMBO (New York), MPID (Sydney). Methodology of the empirical investigation includes an inductive case study approach that employs descriptive and explanatory methods. Findings of the study reveal insights into attributes of place quality that need to be considered while planning, designing, and managing innovation clusters.