The roles of universities in knowledge-based urban development: a critical review

Universities are increasingly recognised as key actors in the knowledge-based urban development process, occupying a crucial role of knowledge creators and transmitters. This paper takes a critical view of these roles and reviews the extant literature to present a synopsis of relevant work examining universities and open innovation, the uncertainties involved in the process of knowledge transfer, and the spatial scope of university-industry links. The paper proposes a number of areas for future development: understanding the heterogeneity of universities and how this influences their potential roles in knowledge-based urban development; a better understanding of how uncertainties in the partner selection process may prevent efficient university-industry collaboration to promote knowledge-based urban development; further exploration of the micro-level processes involved in knowledge transfer between universities and firms; and a broader understanding of the roles of proximities in facilitating these links.