Chicago's Defense-Based High Technology: A Case Study of the "Seedbeds of Innovation" Hypothesis

Abstract

Large urban agglomerations have been termed "seedbeds of innovation" and have been expected to engender new industries even as older ones disperse. However, new industries may exhibit locational tendencies quite different from those they supplant. We show for the case of Chicago, whose seedbed function is in doubt, that defense-related high-tech industries in particular have shunned the area. The key reasons appear to be the indifference of successful commercially oriented firms to defense opportunities and the absence of key military facilities.