Syracuse University’s Connective Corridor was named one of four emerging “Innovation Districts” in the world in a recently released report by New Jersey Future.  The independent study looked at global best practices from the perspective that investments in key industries should be strongly linked to the kinds of smart-growth places where they can flourish.

The report featured four districts that are accelerating growth through an integrated economic development strategy that includes innovation and entrepreneurship, linked with smart urban planning and infrastructure investments focused on revitalized, mixed-use walkable communities.

Syracuse was recognized for its role as an anchor institution leading community-driven economic development in key industry clusters through partnerships with federal, state, city and county government that are re-shaping the urban landscape and driving new investment – along with developing an entrepreneurial ecosystem to support the creation of new ventures.

Notable benchmarks include $1.4 billion in new construction underway in the City of Syracuse, along with the launch of more than 100 new ventures.

Among the findings of the study that cited 22@Barcelona, NYC’s Cornell Tech Campus and Boston’s Innovation District, along with Syracuse’s Connective Corridor:

Most host cities had made significant transportation and infrastructure investments, which modernized the area and increased access to and mobility within the district;

• All districts made an effort to foster collaboration among business leaders and to develop lively retail, cultural, and public spaces for residents, in a concerted attempt to attract and retain young university talent;
• Many districts formed in areas with a concentration of firms in certain industries, and sought to accelerate this base, rather than starting from scratch.

The study offered a strategy for success, based on the four Innovation Districts featured in the study:

• A goal of spurring job creation and innovation through investment in places and institutions;
• Formal collaboration between three kinds of partners: higher education institutions, the public sector and private enterprise;
• Geographic focus on investing in and improving a particular place that will serve as host to the innovation district. Ideally, the host location will be a city or another already-developed area with infrastructure and access to transit;
• Efforts to foster communication and collaboration, including compact, walkable design, and new or enhanced programs and institutions;
• A focus on specific industry clusters and knowledge workers

“Innovation districts are economic development tools that utilize partnerships with higher education institutions, businesses, and government to fuel job growth and redevelopment in targeted locations,” according to the report.  “Innovation districts are based on the premise that collaboration and productivity result from proximity, and therefore job creation and innovation can be fostered through the intentional clustering of businesses, institutions, ideas and people.”

Read the full report here.