ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the position and development of the knowledge foundations in the following nine cities: Amsterdam, Dortmund, Eindhoven, Helsinki, Manchester, Munich, Munster, Rotterdam, and Zaragoza. It explores the knowledge economy strategies of these cities. The chapter analyses the foundations of the knowledge economy for the cities. They include the knowledge base, the economic base, the quality of life, the accessibility, the urban diversity, the urban scale, and the social equity in the city. The chapter discusses the cities' knowledge economy activities. It explains how well the city (and the actors in it) manages to: attract and retain talented people; create new knowledge; apply new knowledge and make new combinations; and develop new growth clusters. The chapter contains conclusions and unfolds perspectives for cities' position in the emerging knowledge economy. New policy frameworks are needed that create incentives for scale enlargement of local clusters, and to fight the current fragmentation of efforts among cities and nations.
