The Changing Geography of Innovation: Comparing Urban, Suburban and Rural Areas

Adelheid Holl, Catalina Martínez, Clara Casado · 2024 · Growth and Change

Summary. Using detailed patent data from Spain between 1995 and 2017, this study shows that innovation has become increasingly concentrated in urban areas, particularly for breakthrough inventions. Suburban and urban areas converged before 2008 but diverged afterward. Rural areas remain persistently disadvantaged. The analysis reveals that innovation geography varies significantly depending on whether inventions are incremental or radical, with path-dependent factors shaping these spatial patterns.

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@article{holl-2024-changing-geography-innovation-comparing-urban,
  title   = {The Changing Geography of Innovation: Comparing Urban, Suburban and Rural Areas},
  author  = {Adelheid Holl and Catalina Martínez and Clara Casado},
  journal = {Growth and Change},
  year    = {2024},
  doi     = {10.1111/grow.70003},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1111/grow.70003}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - The Changing Geography of Innovation: Comparing Urban, Suburban and Rural Areas
AU  - Adelheid Holl
AU  - Catalina Martínez
AU  - Clara Casado
JO  - Growth and Change
PY  - 2024
DO  - 10.1111/grow.70003
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1111/grow.70003
ER  - 

Details

DOI

10.1111/grow.70003

Countries

Spain

Regions

Europe

Categories

innovation-theory, regional-innovation-systems, rural-data-and-definitions, general-innovation

Added

2026-08-01