Governance in innovative cities and the importance of branding

Everywhere in the Western world we can see the rise of cities calling themselves ‘innovative cities’. In this paper we look at these cities from a governance perspective. Making use of insights from urban economics, we understand innovative cities as competitive urban areas that combine concentration, diversity, instability and especially a positive image. Case studies of three innovative hot spots – Austin (Texas), Øresund (Denmark/Sweden) and Manchester (UK) – suggest that local governments cannot plan urban innovativeness from scratch. We conclude, however, that policy-makers can increase the chance that innovation in cities emerges by giving chance a helping hand and by branding the city in the outside world.