ABSTRACT
The concept of the technopole has captured a public imaginary, invoking a relationship between knowledge and place focused on the potential of technology-driven economic development for cities across the globe. This chapter outlines different rationales to knowledge-based urban development with an emphasis upon how the urban and knowledge are conceptualised. The chapter focuses on the English Science Cities initiative. It looks at pre-existing policy contexts, the genesis of the initiative and differentiates between interpretations within central and sub-national agencies. It discusses the consequences for action at the city-regional scale and the implications for national science and urban policy. The chapter considers the broader ramifications of this analysis in terms of the relationships between knowledge, space and public policy. Finally, it concludes with the need to adopt more context-sensitive approaches to understanding knowledge-based development as an antidote to the aspatiality of global knowledge capitalism.
