Innovationsgeographie

The discussion on creative cities is gaining importance resulting in an increasing number of relevant publications. As a rule these studies have been dealing with economically oriented innovations usually treating the innovation processes in a kind of retrospective. The present study of the Metropolitan Distrikt Quito focusses on the aspect of social innovations with the perspective to introduce and implement novel planning concepts. Thus the central actor is the local government. The local knowledge of the local government is analysed in the light of theoretically deduced criteria of creative territories as determining factors of the process of social innovation. The main issue is to relate the factors found in concrete territories and their implementation during the innovation processes. 
The methodology of applied geography is employed using existing concepts are the basis. These concepts, which were elaborated in Europe / North America, are “tested” for their applicability under the conditions of a South American metropolis, with a view of a dialogue between science and the actual communal situation. The study indicates that applied geography can follow complex and dynamical territorial development processes in the Third World by accompanying research and observation.
The indicators of intellectual capital investigated in most of the studies can be related with concrete, communal areas. Numerous interactions have been demonstrated between the indicators of social innovation and creative territories. In this context it is interesting to note that the mayor of Quito has presented a local programme exhibiting all elements of the paradigm “novel communal political culture”. Regarding the continuation of the dialogue taking place in “applied science” it can be stated that the development begun in the Metropolitan Distrikt Quito offers first empirical proofs towards the strategic main subjects of the “Future City Concept”.