A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Intercity connectivity and urban innovation
Abstract Urban outputs, from economy to innovation, are known to grow as a power of a city's population. But, since large cities tend to be central in transportation and communication networks, the effects attributed to city size may be confounded with those of intercity connectivity. Here, we map intercity networks for the world's two largest economies (the United States and China) to explore whether a city's position in the networks of communication, human mobility, and scientific collaboration explains variance in a city's patenting activity that is unaccounted for by its population. We find evidence that models incorporating intercity connectivity outperform population-based models and exhibit stronger predictive power for patenting activity, particularly for technologies of more recent vintage (which we expect to be more complex or sophisticated). The effects of intercity connectivity are more robust in China, even after controlling for population, GDP, and education, but not in the United States once adjusted for GDP and education. This divergence suggests distinct urban network dynamics driving innovation in these regions. In China, models with social media and mobility networks explain more heterogeneity in the scaling of innovation, whereas in the United States, scientific collaboration plays a more significant role. These findings support the significance of a city's position within the intercity network in shaping its success in innovative activities.
Highlights Constructed data and mapped communication, human mobility, and scientific collaboration intercity networks in the U.S. and China. Cities with high and low intercity connectivity are compared, controlling for population, GDP, and education. Intercity connectivity improves the predictive power of a scaling model for patenting activity, particularly in China and for more complex patents. Communication and mobility networks better explain the scaling variance of innovation in China, while scientific collaboration network plays a more prominent role in the U.S.
Intercity connectivity and urban innovation
Abstract Urban outputs, from economy to innovation, are known to grow as a power of a city's population. But, since large cities tend to be central in transportation and communication networks, the effects attributed to city size may be confounded with those of intercity connectivity. Here, we map intercity networks for the world's two largest economies (the United States and China) to explore whether a city's position in the networks of communication, human mobility, and scientific collaboration explains variance in a city's patenting activity that is unaccounted for by its population. We find evidence that models incorporating intercity connectivity outperform population-based models and exhibit stronger predictive power for patenting activity, particularly for technologies of more recent vintage (which we expect to be more complex or sophisticated). The effects of intercity connectivity are more robust in China, even after controlling for population, GDP, and education, but not in the United States once adjusted for GDP and education. This divergence suggests distinct urban network dynamics driving innovation in these regions. In China, models with social media and mobility networks explain more heterogeneity in the scaling of innovation, whereas in the United States, scientific collaboration plays a more significant role. These findings support the significance of a city's position within the intercity network in shaping its success in innovative activities.
Highlights Constructed data and mapped communication, human mobility, and scientific collaboration intercity networks in the U.S. and China. Cities with high and low intercity connectivity are compared, controlling for population, GDP, and education. Intercity connectivity improves the predictive power of a scaling model for patenting activity, particularly in China and for more complex patents. Communication and mobility networks better explain the scaling variance of innovation in China, while scientific collaboration network plays a more prominent role in the U.S.
Intercity connectivity and urban innovation
Liang, Xiaofan (author) / Hidalgo, César A. (author) / Balland, Pierre-Alexandre (author) / Zheng, Siqi (author) / Wang, Jianghao (author)
2024-02-21
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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