Place-making for knowledge and innovation in Turkiye: the case of Metu Technopark, Ankara

Date

2024-7

Author

Tuç Talu, İmral

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With the rising importance of knowledge and innovation, cities are evolving through specialized areas dedicated to knowledge exchange and economic growth. The technology development zones (TDZs) built in both developed and developing countries to organize, produce, and transfer knowledge and innovation are now recognized as independent economic entities, benefiting from the knowledge economy by attracting new businesses, bolstering economic growth, and fostering innovation and knowledge exchange. Despite their similarities across countries, such TDZs still maintain their nation-specific characteristics and differences based on local and national actors, processes, and histories. This PhD thesis explores the place-making processes in TDZs in Türkiye, using the METU Technopark as a case study. After defining the five place-making parameters (spatial, institutional, human capital, actors and networks) of TDZs, it reveals diverse interrelations and processes among these parameters that are specific to the three distinct parts of the METU Technopark. The in-depth analyses of the surveys and interviews with the firms regarding their size and time spent in the TDZ unveiled the presence of diverse and complex relationships and processes despite a perceived uniformity. Firm behaviors, including their establishment, project developments, commercialization, export and networking, vary based on size, the time spend in TDZ, and location. Finally, the thesis reveals that being in the same region and within the same institutional framework does not yield the same results, indicating the context- and case-specific features of the TDZs so there are different place-making processes.

Subject Keywords

Place-making, Technology development zones, Knowledge, Technopark, Technology

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/110115

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis