Place quality and urban competitiveness symbiosis? A position paper

Urban agglomerations - where innovation and knowledge generation activities take place - are in a tough competition to become a major player in the global knowledge economy. It is claimed that soft measures - namely quality of life and place - help in fostering and attracting talent, and consequently draw investment to these urban localities. This paper aims to scrutinise the role of soft measures in supporting urban competitiveness through a critical review of the scholarly literature. The findings shed some light on whether there is a symbiotic relationship between place quality and urban competitiveness. The paper also points out directions for future investigations.