Hard and Soft Networks for Urban Competitiveness

The concept of competitiveness has grown significantly and it is now common for cities, regions and nations to assess, improve and publicise their competitive standing vis-à-vis other places. Yet it remains rather unclear just what competitiveness is when applied to places, which have objectives distinct from those of private-sector organisations, for whom share price and profitability serve as common metrics. The blurring of the responsibilities of the public and private sectors also complicates matters, with the former making increasing use of the terminology and priorities of business. This paper takes the view that both public and private sectors-and their interactions—are sustained by networks. To be effective, these networks must operate at the global, national, regional and local scales, gathering knowledge via social interaction—that is, through 'soft' networks. To a growing degree, competitive networking also demands technological capability, whether in high-tech sectors, `smokestack' industries or public-sector organisations. This capability now demands 'hard' networks that 'plug into' the Internet. Decisions about the location of this infrastructure are largely in the hands of the private sector, responding to agglomeration economies and other `imperatives' of the business world. The Internet also has created a new set of imperatives regarding information flow, since any competitive organisation must have an informative and 'user-friendly' website. Such new demands continue to 'raise the bar' regarding what urban competitiveness means.