Abstract
Innovative cities not only constitute an important basis for innovation activities, but also play a strategically critical role in constructing an innovative country, producing new forms of urban development, and fostering urban sustainable development. Currently, China is marching toward the goal of establishing an innovative country by 2020, but in the start-up phase of this process of innovative city construction, the fundamental transition from factor-driven development to innovation-driven development is not being realized. As a result, a wide gap currently exists between China’s innovative cities and the advanced innovative cities in developed countries. This paper argues that this necessary transition is being constrained by a series of bottlenecks in investment, income, techniques, contributions, and talents. The article takes 287 prefecture-level cities as its object of comprehensive assessment, developing a comprehensive assessment system for innovative cities and devising innovative monitoring system software in order to evaluate the current situation in China’s innovative city construction. The analysis addresses four key aspects — namely, independent innovation, industrial innovation, living environmental innovation, and institutional innovation — as well as the spatial heterogeneity of the innovative city construction process. The results demonstrate that the level of innovation in Chinese cities is low, and the paper warns that building an innovation-oriented country will, as a consequence, be difficult. Some 87.8% of the cities studied maintained comprehensive levels of innovation that were lower than the national average. The level of comprehensive innovation in a city was found to have close and positive correlation with economic development. The level of the eastern region of China was, in particular, found to be significantly higher than that of the central and western regions. The levels of urban independent innovation, industrial innovation, environmental innovation, and institutional innovation showed consistent spatial heterogeneity, as did the comprehensive level of innovation in cities. In the future, the authors suggest, China should speed up the construction process in accordance with the basic principles of “independent innovation, breakthroughs in key fields, market-oriented, regional interaction, talent-supported,” with the pur pose of building up Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Guangzhou as global innovation centers; and Nanjing, Suzhou, Xiamen, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Xi’an, Wuhan, Shenyang, Dalian, Tianjin, Changsha, Qingdao, Chengdu, Changchun, Hefei, and Chongqing as national innovation centers, by 2020. Through this process, China will finally build a national urban innovation network that includes 4 global innovative cities, 16 national innovative cities, 30 regional innovative cities, 55 local innovative cities, and 182 innovation-driven development cities, thereby contributing to the establishment of an innovative country by 2020.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
2Thinknow, 2012. Innovation Cities Top 100 Index 2011: City Rankings. http://www.innovation-cities.com/zh/innovation-cities-index-top-cities-for-innovation, 2012-06-06.
Athey G, Nathan M, Webber C et al., 2008. Innovation and the city. Innovation: Management Policy & Practice, 10(2/3): 156–169.
Campbell M O, 2006. Urban parks as shared spaces? The utility of alert distances as indicators of avian tolerance of humans in Stirling, Scotland. Area, 38(3): 301–311.
Cetindamar D, Gunsel A, 2012. Measuring the creativity of a city: A proposal and an application. European Planning Studies, 20(8): 1301–1318.
Chen S, Karwan K, 2008. Innovative cities in China: Lessons from Pudong New District, Zhangjiang High-tech Park and SMIC Village. Innovation: Management Policy & Practice, 10(2/3): 247–256.
Chen Yongming, 2007. How far does Shanghai away from innovative city: Comment on statistical indicator system for Shanghai City construction. Party & Government Forum, (1): 37–39. (in Chinese)
Chinese Science and Technology Development Strategy Research Group (CSTDSRG), 2011. Annual Report of Regional Innovation Capability of China 2010: A Study of Pearl Delta Regional Innovation System. Beijing: Science Press, 33–36. (in Chinese)
Cohendet P, Grandadam D, Simon L, 2010. The anatomy of the creative city. Industry and Innovation, 17(1): 91–111.
Dente B, Coletti P, 2011. Measuring governance in urban innovation. Local Government Studies, 37(1): 43–56.
Dutta S, Benavente D, 2011. The Global Innovation Index 2011. http://www.globalinnovationindex.org/gii/main/fullreport/index.html.
European Commission, 2010. Innovation Union Scoreboard 2010. http://www.proinno-europe.eu/inno-metrics/page/innovation-union-scoreboard-2010.
Evaluation of China Innovation Cities Research Group, 2009. Report on evaluation of China innovation cities. Statistical Research, 26(8): 3–9. (in Chinese)
Evans J, Jones P, 2008. Rethinking sustainable urban regeneration: Ambiguity, creativity, and the shared territory. Environment and Planning A, 40(6): 1416–1434.
Fang Chuanglin, 2013. The construction status quo evaluation and bottleneck analysis of Chinese innovative cities. Urban Development Studies, 20(5): 90–98. (in Chinese)
Fang Chuanglin, Liu Yi, Lin Yueran, 2013. Report on Development of Innovative Cities in China. Beijing: Science Press, 2–3. (in Chinese)
Fang Chuanglin, Xiong Shu, 2014. A Software for Comprehensive Evaluation and Dynamic Monitoring for Chinese Innovative Cities (V1.0), National Computer Software Certificate Registration No.2011SR082055. (in Chinese)
Fang Chuanglin, Zhang Xiaolei, Shi Yulong et al., 2011. Analysis and Decision Support Systems for China’s Town Industry Distribution. Beijing: Science Press, 78–85. (in Chinese)
Fitjar R D, Rodriguez-Pose A, 2011. When local interaction does not suffice: Sources of firm innovation in urban Norway. Environment and Planning A, 43(6): 1248–1267.
Florida R, 2002. The Rise of the Creative Class. New York: Basic Books, 2–7.
Hall P G, 1998. Cities in Civilization. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 22–23.
Hospers G J, 2008. Governance in innovative cities and the importance of branding. Innovation: Management Policy & Practice, 10(2/3): 224–234.
Hu Jintao, 2012. Unswervingly Advance along the Road of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, Struggle for Building a Moderately Prosperous Society. Beijing: People’s Publishing House, 20–21. (in Chinese)
Isaksen A, Aslesen H W, 2001. Oslo: In what way an innovative city?. European Planning Studies, 9(7): 871–887.
Iskander N, Lowe N, Riordan C, 2010. The rise and fall of a micro-learning region: Mexican immigrants and construction in center-south Philadelphia. Environment and Planning A, 42(7): 1595–1612.
Ji Baocheng, Zhao Yanyun, 2008. China towards an Innovation Country: China’s Innovation Index. Beijing: China Renmin University Press, 123–127. (in Chinese)
Johnson B, 2008. Cities, systems of innovation and economic development. Innovation: Management Policy & Practice, 10(2/3): 146–155.
Johnston A, 2011. The Economic Performance of UK Cities, 1995–2005: Driven by knowledge-based sectors or consumption-based sectors? European Planning Studies, 19(12): 2095–2108.
Landry C, 2000. The Creative City: A Toolkit for Urban Innovators. London: Earthscan Publications Ltd., 67–87.
Lee N, Drever E, 2013. The creative industries, creative occupations and innovation in London. European Planning Studies, 21(12): 1977–1997.
Leslie D, Rantisi N M, 2011. Creativity and place in the evolution of a cultural industry: The case of Cirque du Soleil. Urban Studies, 48(9): 1771–1787.
Lin C Y, 2014. The evolution of Taipei’s music industry: Cluster and network dynamics in the innovation practices of the music industry. Urban Studies, 51(2): 335–354.
Liu H L, Zhou G H, Wennersten R et al., 2014. Analysis of sustainable urban development approaches in China. Habitat International, 41: 24–32.
López-Claros A, Mata Y N, 2011. The Innovation for Development Report 2010–2011. http://www.innovationfordevelopmentreport.org/ici.html.
Ma Haitao, Fang Chuanglin, Wang Shaojian, 2013. Basic characteristics of global innovation cities and its implications for China. Urban Planning Forum, (1): 67–77. (in Chinese)
Marceau J, 2008. Innovation in the city and innovative cities. Innovation: Management Policy & Practice, 10(2/3)
Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the People’s Republic of China, 2012. China Urban Construction Statistical Yearbook-2011. Beijing: China Statistics Press, 33–187. (in Chinese)
National Bureau of Statistics, 2012. China City Statistical Yearbook-2011. Beijing: China Statistics Press, 8–238. (in Chinese)
National Bureau of Statistics, 2012. China Industry Economy Statistical Yearbook-2011. Beijing: China Statistics Press, 12–38. (in Chinese)
National Bureau of Statistics, 2012. China Statistical Yearbook for Regional Economy-2011. Beijing: China Statistics Press, 24–65. (in Chinese)
National Bureau of Statistics, 2012. China Statistical Yearbook on Science and Technology-2011. Beijing: China Statistics Press, 22–132. (in Chinese)
National Bureau of Statistics, 2012. China Statistical Yearbook-2011. Beijing: China Statistics Press, 14–355. (in Chinese)
National Innovation System Strategy Research Group (NISSRG), 2008. Annual Report on Development of National Innovation System: Research on National Innovation System. Beijing: Intellectual Property Publishing House, 75–79. (in Chinese)
National Innovation System Strategy Research Group (NISSRG), 2011. Annual Report on Development of National Innovation System Construction of Innovative Cities. Beijing: Science Press, 28–59. (in Chinese)
Porter M E, Stren S, 2003. National innovative capacity. http://www.isc.hbs.edu/Innov_9211.
Qian Wei, 2011. Development path of innovative cities: Transformation experience and inspiration of typical cities of USA. Reform & Opening, (4): 16–19. (in Chinese)
Ren Yong, Yang Daoyun, Chen Hong, 2009. Building and empirical analysis of evaluation index system on city innovation ability. Science & Technology Progress and Policy, 26(17): 141–144.
Research team on independent innovation of economic daily, 2011. Independent Innovation Annual Report 2011. Beijing: Economic Daily Press, 2–28.
Schumpeter J A, 1991. The Theory of Economic Development. Beijing: The Commercial Press, 13–25. (in Chinese)
Simmie J, 2001. Innovative Cities. London/New York: Spon Press, 44–49.
The Center for Innovation and Development of CAS, 2009. The Report on Innovation and Development in China 2009. Beijing: Science Press, 72–76. (in Chinese)
Vanolo A, 2013. Alternative Capitalism and creative economy: The case of Christiania. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 37(5): 1785–1798.
Wei Y H D, Liefner I, Miao C H, 2011. Network configurations and R&D activities of the ICT industry in Suzhou municipality, China. Geoforum, 42(4): 484–495.
Zhan Zhengmao, Xiong Simin, 2010. Annual Report on Building an Innovation-oriented Country (2010). Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press, 82–87. (in Chinese)
Zhou Yuan, 2007. Research on the Regional Indigenous Innovation of China (2006–2007): Theory and Practice of Regional Indigenous Innovation. Beijing: China Water Power Press, 115–119. (in Chinese)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Foundation: Major project of the National Social Science Foundation of China, No.13&ZD027; National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.41371177, 41201128.
Author: Fang Chuanglin (1966–), Professor, specialized in land use and resources & urban geography.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fang, C., Ma, H., Wang, Z. et al. The sustainable development of innovative cities in China: Comprehensive assessment and future configuration. J. Geogr. Sci. 24, 1095–1114 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-014-1141-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-014-1141-z