Technopole

Technopole refers to a center of high-tech manufacturing and information-based quaternary industry. The term was coined by Allen J. Scott in 1990 to describe regions in southern California which showed a rapid growth in high technology fields. This term now has a broader scope to describe regions worldwide dedicated to technological innovation.

Technopoles may be developed by the private sector or by the co-operation or partnership between the public and private sectors. Governments of all levels promote them as a panacea for economies hurt by economic restructuring. Large corporations and small business operate within these high technology areas. Networking between companies is important and made possible by technological advances. Technopoles are combined technological and business centers specifically established around recognized educational and research institutes.

There are several definitions for "technopole" in an international context, whereby focus is usually placed on the existence of four factors:

Factors important to investors include:

Technopoles are also vulnerable to global trends and can dissolve quickly if they are not properly supported. Technopoles have to be flexible and willing to experiment with new ideas to be seen as a global competitor. Governments and corporations tend to continue to heavily invest in technopoles in hopes of gaining economic prosperity.

Technopoles in the United Kingdom include counties such as Berkshire and Hampshire in the “Western Crescent” of London, as well as Hertfordshire in the Northern section of London.

In France, there are technopoles located near Rennes, Grenoble, Toulouse, Lyon and Paris.

Writer Joel Stratte-McClure of Time Magazine described a technopole in southern France called Sophia Antipolis which had 1,200 companies in a sprawling development twenty minutes away from the airport in Nice. According to the report, the technopole featured hiking trails and jogging paths and riding stables and golf courses and signs which indicate the names of various species of plants, and with street names which were "slightly pretentious" such as "Rue Dostoevski" and "Rue Albert Einstein" criss-crossing rolling hills with pine trees. There are reflecting pools, although the layout was criticized as somewhat "confusing" for taxi drivers.

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