Urban tech ecosystems: A framework for assessing the impact of development policies on startup clusters

Startup clusters exert a significant influence on territorial dynamics and local urban development by attracting job opportunities, talent, and shaping market interest, supported by effective land use policies. This study examines the impact of Urban Development Policies (UDP) on technology startup clusters' sustainability, focused on the city of São Paulo, in Brazil. It recognizes a gap in understanding UDP's influence on cluster growth, which motivates the research. The study employs a four-phase method: technology mapping, territorial differentiation, metric configuration, and decentralized district aggregation, utilizing QGIS and Python. The results reveal a trend of cluster formation in UDP areas due to infrastructure, academic proximity, and commercial growth, highlighting the interplay between urban policies, infrastructure development, and economic opportunities. The findings provide insights to strategic urban development policies, emphasizing holistic strategies for employment enhancement, sustainable urban evolution, and effective talent and real estate management. These implications advance knowledge in urban issues, policy implementation, urban design, and urban services provision, pertinent to the global development context. Results show actionable solutions to address urban challenges, build innovative urban solutions and support local sustainable development with technology startup clusters. • Urban development incentive policies in São Paulo trigger technology startup clustering. •Mass transportation development promoted by UDP policies triggers startup cluster formation. •Flexibility of urban planning parameters in UDP areas contributed to an increase in verticalization. •Technology production dispersion reinforces difficulty of smaller startups to access UDP area. •Technology startup cluster tend to form close to subway and train stations.