22@ Innovation Districts

At the end of the 20th century, 200 hectares of industrial land in the Poblenou area were developed with the goal og preserving and maintaining the productive culture of the area that had been the epicenter of the industrial revolution in Catalonia. 

The result of this is 22@, one of the first districts of urban innovation in the world. The 22@ was created following with these fundamental features in mind: 

• Sustain the culture of productivity of the area, by promoting knowledge-intensive activities
• Encourage the creation of knowledge-based centers (Universities, research centers, etc)
• Develop a compact and complex city model, with mixed land use. This includes housing, human resources, business development, and eco-friendly areas

• Implement an infrastructure plan (with service networks, district heating, waste collection, advanced mobility solutions, power grid, etc.) that make the district an advanced tertiary land

• Preserve the architectural, and industrial heritage of the district

• Foster the development for an open ecosystem of innovation 

  
  Since the 20th century, INNOVATION DISTRICTS have proliferated globally, leading the way to other innovation-based urban developments in large areas far from central cities (such as the Silicon Valley model).
  
   In The rise of innovation districts, of Bruce Katz y Julie Wagner for the Brookings Institutions, define these environments as:
• "geographical areas where leading-edge anchor institutions and companies cluster and connect with start-ups, business incubators and accelerators. They are also physically compact, transit-accessible, and technically-wired and offer mixed-use housing, office and retail"
  
  Innovative Districts encompass physical, economic and intercommunication elements. If one of these elements is missing, the ecosystem dynamic cannot occur: THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF BEING WHERE THINGS HAPPEN.

Over the years, 22@ has managed to reach considerable benchmarks in terms of innovation, economic development and positioning in the city of Barcelona.