Urban research in the knowledge economy: Content, context and outlook

As discourses of knowledge-based growth and their spatial implications havetaken hold, the presuppositions about the relationship between urban research andpractice require systematic re-evaluation. Universities have become implicated inlocal growth coalitions, not only as estate managers, but also as strategic actors,employers or providers of evidence to inform policy. At the same time, the role ofresearch has been the subject of much debate, in terms of the need to demonstrateuser relevance, impact and value-added according to a range of economic, social,cultural and environmental objectives. It is no longer only a question of what thecity means for the researcher but what research means for the city – and how thoseconcerns are mediated by the university as a site of knowledge production. In thisconcluding article to the special issue, we examine these concerns via a discussionof how changing socio-economic conditions create pressures on universities to‘build knowledge cities’ and how they, in turn, relate to the contexts and cultures inwhich urban research is produced