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Charting theEmergence of a
Knowledge Economyin Venice, Italy
LAURIE ZAPALACMIT
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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
[email protected] May 2010