City as a Growth Platform: Responses of the Cities of Helsinki Metropolitan Area to Global Digital Economy
The aim of this article is to shed light on how ongoing structural change towards the global digital economy condition urban economic development. Discussion starts with a brief reference to the growth machine thesis and its emphasis on the interests of local land and real estate owners. This theory...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Urban Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2413-8851/4/4/67 |
| _version_ | 1797546247191527424 |
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| author | Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko Markus Laine Henrik Lönnqvist |
| author_facet | Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko Markus Laine Henrik Lönnqvist |
| author_sort | Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The aim of this article is to shed light on how ongoing structural change towards the global digital economy condition urban economic development. Discussion starts with a brief reference to the growth machine thesis and its emphasis on the interests of local land and real estate owners. This theory serves as a contrasting point for the second element of our framework, the platform economy, which brings digital platforms and the transnational capitalist class into the picture. The transition from the urban growth machines of the industrial age to the digital growth platforms of the information age imply a radical change in the context of urban economic development. On this basis, we discuss cities’ need to adjust their growth strategies to the conditions of the emerging platform economy. Our illustrative case is the capital region of Finland. We interviewed officials and experts who hold key positions in the design of economic development policy in the three largest cities of this area. The empirical results show that the platform economy is rather vaguely conceptualized, and its challenges are ambiguously addressed. Cities have, however, started to adopt platform and ecosystem thinking in their strategies and established urban innovation platforms, talent and start-up attraction programs, and open data initiatives that reflect the gradual adoption of platform logic in urban economic development. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:26:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9a35ecd336da46a59e995b04b17d7222 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2413-8851 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:26:24Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Urban Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-9a35ecd336da46a59e995b04b17d72222023-11-20T22:55:55ZengMDPI AGUrban Science2413-88512020-11-01446710.3390/urbansci4040067City as a Growth Platform: Responses of the Cities of Helsinki Metropolitan Area to Global Digital EconomyAri-Veikko Anttiroiko0Markus Laine1Henrik Lönnqvist2Faculty of Management and Business, Tampere University, 33100 Tampere, FinlandFaculty of Management and Business, Tampere University, 33100 Tampere, FinlandCity Strategy and Management, City of Vantaa, 01300 Vantaa, FinlandThe aim of this article is to shed light on how ongoing structural change towards the global digital economy condition urban economic development. Discussion starts with a brief reference to the growth machine thesis and its emphasis on the interests of local land and real estate owners. This theory serves as a contrasting point for the second element of our framework, the platform economy, which brings digital platforms and the transnational capitalist class into the picture. The transition from the urban growth machines of the industrial age to the digital growth platforms of the information age imply a radical change in the context of urban economic development. On this basis, we discuss cities’ need to adjust their growth strategies to the conditions of the emerging platform economy. Our illustrative case is the capital region of Finland. We interviewed officials and experts who hold key positions in the design of economic development policy in the three largest cities of this area. The empirical results show that the platform economy is rather vaguely conceptualized, and its challenges are ambiguously addressed. Cities have, however, started to adopt platform and ecosystem thinking in their strategies and established urban innovation platforms, talent and start-up attraction programs, and open data initiatives that reflect the gradual adoption of platform logic in urban economic development.https://www.mdpi.com/2413-8851/4/4/67platformplatformizationplatform economyplatform urbanismdigital economyeconomic growth |
| spellingShingle | Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko Markus Laine Henrik Lönnqvist City as a Growth Platform: Responses of the Cities of Helsinki Metropolitan Area to Global Digital Economy Urban Science platform platformization platform economy platform urbanism digital economy economic growth |
| title | City as a Growth Platform: Responses of the Cities of Helsinki Metropolitan Area to Global Digital Economy |
| title_full | City as a Growth Platform: Responses of the Cities of Helsinki Metropolitan Area to Global Digital Economy |
| title_fullStr | City as a Growth Platform: Responses of the Cities of Helsinki Metropolitan Area to Global Digital Economy |
| title_full_unstemmed | City as a Growth Platform: Responses of the Cities of Helsinki Metropolitan Area to Global Digital Economy |
| title_short | City as a Growth Platform: Responses of the Cities of Helsinki Metropolitan Area to Global Digital Economy |
| title_sort | city as a growth platform responses of the cities of helsinki metropolitan area to global digital economy |
| topic | platform platformization platform economy platform urbanism digital economy economic growth |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2413-8851/4/4/67 |
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