Zapalac Charting the Emergence of a Knowledge Economy in Venice, Italy

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Charting theEmergence of a

Knowledge Economyin Venice, Italy

LAURIE ZAPALACMIT

LZAPALAC@MIT.EDU

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Population Change

SOURCE: The Venice Report, 2009

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Industrialization High Water Mass Tourism

20th Century Challenges

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Sustainability MOSE SystemDigital Technology?

21st Century Responses

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A knowledge economy recognizes:• information as raw material• knowledge as a tool• the development or application of ideas as

the critical -- if not central - part of the laborprocess.

The Age of Discontinuity (Drucker, 1969)

How is work changing?

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Why is the historic center attractingknowledge workers?•

Characteristics?• Strategy for regeneration?• Opportunities and limits?

Methodology: Interviews and Case Studies todevelop a working hypothesis(phase I)

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Place Knowledge City Knowledge (Carrera, 2004)

Embedded Knowledge

Accrued Knowledge

Real Time Information

Feedback

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Place Knowledge City Knowledge (Carrera, 2004)

Embedded KnowledgeReal Time Information

Feedback

Accrued Knowledge

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What types of activities have emerged?

Vento diVenezia

Old boats+

Boat buildingcraft

Restored boatsDesign school

Ski Stradivarius

Surplus curedwood+

Boat buildingcraftGraphic design

Custom snow skis

I Tre Mercanti

Food & wineproducts+

Trade / shipping

Curatedselectionfor the newglobal

“Knowledge transferring”

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What type of activities have emerged?

Bressanello

Art Studio

Studio Camuffo

Cultural information+ Commentary

Media design

Publications,media

Events

“Information-driven”

Relaciones

Tourism information + Analytics

Media design

Consultingreports

Branding /marketing

Visualinformation+ Digitalediting

Interior design

Digital art

Installations

Forma Urbis

City information+ Analytics

Software design

Resource managemeDigital models

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Where do they locate?

• Distributed• Near major routes

• Convenient to transportation needs

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Where do they locate?

• Knowledge transferring = more resource-specific• Information-driven = more responsive to otherfactors

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Where do they locate?

• Limited competition with touristactivities• In small spaces (little inventoryrequirement)•

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Where do they locate?

• On the ground floor (5/7) in former storagespaces (4/7)• High water not a significant deterrent• Live-work proximity

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How do they work? How do they use space?

• Tech savvy; concerned with visual output• Office as design / production space, not client meeting space

• Adaptable

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How do they work? How do they use space?

• Sophisticated use of public space• Small-scale, dense, mixed-use and car free = asset

• Place value on sensory experience

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When have these activities emerged?

• After the 1996 Master Plan• In relationship to changes in digital technology

• As a by-product of 20th Century impacts on the city

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When have these activities emerged?

• While population has been declining• In absence of venture capital

• 1991-2001 census: “employment in professional activitiesalmost doubled”

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Who do they involve?

• Venetians as well as other Italians• Work experience outside the historiccenter• Small core: 1 - 3 key partners; but highly

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Why locate in the historic center?

• Proximity to input resources• Worker satisfaction and performance: identity / lifestyle /social needs• Branding value; proximity to point-of-sale is less relevant

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Why locate in the historic center?

• Digital technology facilitates new ways of working.• The boundaries between work and leisure are diminishing.

• The historic center fosters systems / network thinking.

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Why is the historic center attracting knowledgeworkers?Locating in the historic center offers a competitive

advantage while meeting lifestyle objectives .Knowledge workers place high value on: • real-time information• place knowledge

• feedback

They rely on the physical realm to:• reinforces social relationships• live and work conveniently• inspire creative thinking

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Hypothesis Testing

AGGLOMERATIONAll firms

Knowledge firmsBy sector /tourism

RESIDENTIALPopulationAmenityproximityHousingproximity

PROXIMITY Input proximity

ProductionClient proximity

COSTSRental costs

Housing costsPlanninginitiatives

CIRCULATIONPedestrian

Transportation(out)Canal transport(w/in)

CONDITIONBuilding type /ageBuildingconditionAcqua alta

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Implications

We are on the cusp of a new understandingof

the productive potential of historic cities anda new capacity to realize direct economicvalue from cultural heritage, especially place

knowledge .

Realize value is not just in individ

(Parallel local knowledge of indig

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PRELIMINARY REPORT: September, 2010www.lauriezapalac.com

Lzapalac@mit.edu May 2010