At the turn of the century some cities and regions in Europe, Japan and the USA, displayed an exceptional capacity to incubate and develop new knowledge and innovations. The favourable environment for research, technology and innovation created in these areas was not immediately obvious, yet it was of great significance for a development based on knowledge, learning, and innovation. Intelligent Cities focuses on these environments of innovation, and the major models (technopoles, innovating regions, intelligent cities) for creating an environment-supporting technology, innovation, learning, and knowledge-based development.

The introduction and the first chapter deal with innovation as an environmental condition, and with the geography and typology of islands of innovation. The next three parts focus on the theoretical paradigms and the planning models of the 'industrial district', the innovating region', and the 'intelligent city', which offer three alternative ways to create an environment of innovation.