Urban innovation district and it's implications for Indian cities: A case of Amaravati, AP

Abstract

The topography of Indian IT cities has mostly consisted of suburban corridors of spatially separated corporate campuses for the last 50 years, with little attention to the quality of life or combining work, housing, and entertainment. More vibrant and collaborative work and living spaces are in high demand. The "Innovation Districts," a complementary new urban paradigm, are also gaining traction. These are regions where prominent IT firms congregate and collaborate with start-ups, incubators, and accelerators. Their key objective is to revive poor downtown neighborhoods, create employment, and transform the economy away from traditional industrial-based manufacturing and toward technology-driven services. However, this concept of an Innovation district has not been considered during the planning of the Indian tech-based urban areas. This concept if it can be applied to these cities, would turn their trodden manufacturing-based economy into a modern innovation-based economy thus reviving them. By repopulating neglected urban areas, creating dynamic public spaces, offering educational opportunities for citizens, and bringing wealth to low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, innovation districts contribute to a city's social dynamism. As a result, research is needed to look at the effects of Innovation on a city and determine whether it can be applied to the Indian context. Amaravati, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, is a newly planned city with a vision to turn into a pioneering smart city in India using global practices. Consisting of 25 settlements with a population of just over 1 lakh, the city aspires to become a tech hub with the inflow of migrant working population. To meet its projected population of 3.5 million, the city designed several investment possibilities to entice corporations to invest in Amaravati and provide employment to the resident population. Various socio political and legal issues related to the city's shift of capital status have impacted it severely. As a result, the state now owns 33,000 acres of unoccupied land purchased from farmers through land pooling, with no plans for investment or development. Even though the city is well linked, has top universities, and has plenty of room for growth owing to favorable legislation and land uses, it has been unoccupied for the past two years with no development. If an innovation district can be proposed in this location, it will aid in the renewal of strategies and the development of the city which has been envisioned in its Masterplan. As a result, it is vital to investigate this innovative concept in the context of India. The paper tries to analyze this concept of an Innovation district that is successful globally and looks for ways to adapt it in the Indian context – in the case of Amaravati. Through various global and national Innovation indices, the parameters to assess the Innovation framework are researched. Qualitative data in the form of literature reviews, and case studies is being studied to understand the conceptual development of Innovation districts. Various case studies related to Innovation districts having similar geography and size as Amaravati are explored and analyzed comparatively using secondary data sources. Regional level indicators like high-tech companies, post-secondary education, research personnel, business development, Capital, Quality of local research infrastructure, Quality of ICT infrastructure, and broadband penetration are used to identify the Innovation potential in Amaravati. According to a preliminary study, Amaravati has strong transportation connections, with premier research institutes and anchor firms in adjacent Vijayawada and Guntur. These factors would be crucial in defining the city's Innovation capability. The city has the necessary provisions to attract investors, in addition to a robust start-up policy and framework. These, when paired with the place-making and proximity aspects of the Innovation District, would help boost the economy and generate jobs for local farmers as well as attract a variety of working populations and repopulate the city core to match its previous projections. The various challenges associated have been classified as Innovation related challenges, Place related challenges, and Inclusion challenges. Policy level suggestions have been given to address these issues. These suggestions would help in boosting the Innovation potential of the region thus creating a favorable environment to establish an Innovation district in Amaravati.