Centre for Innovation Research Seminar: Neighbourhood Effects and Innovation – What Do Street Networks Tell Us?

Abstract:
It is a well-established fact that firms and workers are, all else equal, more productive in more populous regions. However, this broad perspective misses the granular processes which occur at smaller spatial scales within cities and regions. Indeed, it is the neighbourhood – not the broadly defined 'city' or 'region' – where individuals and firms meaningfully engage with their geographic and social environment. To address this gap, I explore how geographic neighbourhoods at small spatial scales can augment productivity and innovation within firms in Norway. Representing the neighbourhood as an assemblage of street networks, I consider their position within the wider city and region, their composition, and their structure. This presentation gives an overview of the motivation, measurement and effects of small geographic neighbourhoods across a range of indicators using geo-located register and vacancy data for Norway, merged with Open Street Map data. I make advances on existing estimations and identification of agglomeration externalities, particularly on the use of topological rather than Euclidean descriptions of geographic space.