ABSTRACT
The essence of innovativeness is difficult to distil in a city such as London. It arises out of myriad processes of entrepreneurial, technical and market invention and risk-taking, many of which are of only passing influence or have no significant outcome. Innovativeness depends on the social characteristics of the population as well as economic organisation. Such localised influences, however, actually often inhibit novelty. A legacy of past success may be a good indicator of adaptability but it may also lay a dead hand on change as the rest of the world moves on. Large cities tend to attract inventive individuals and support them in developing ideas. Opportunities for collaboration may be greater than elsewhere, but so is intensity of competition, and many more projects may fail than succeed.
