Alternative Forms of the High-Technology District: Corridors, Clumps, Cores, Campuses, Subdivisions, and Sites

Abstract

Does a high-tech economy create fundamentally different places from other employment areas? In this paper I propose a typology of small to medium-scale high-technology districts in terms of their physical environments rather than their economic features (which is the more common basis of such classifications). I define a set of recognizable high-tech places: corridors, clumps, cores, comprehensive campuses, tech nology subdivisions, and scattered technology sites. I argue that there are many overlaps in design and layout with generic urban industrial and office development, and with planned new towns, university campuses, and garden suburbs. However, as this part of the economy grows, so too will the effect of such places on long-term urban sustainability and livability. It is important that planning and design for such developments consider larger effects on issues such as transportation options, energy use, housing balance, and sense of place.