Planning for knowledge‐based urban development: global perspectives

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to investigate the engineering of creative urban regions through knowledge‐based urban development. In recent years city administrators realised the importance of engineering and orchestrating knowledge city formation through visioning and planning for economic, socio‐cultural and physical development. For that purpose a new development paradigm of “knowledge‐based urban development” is formed, and quickly finds implementation ground in many parts of the globe. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the literature and examines global best practice experiences in order to determine how cities are engineering their creative urban regions so as to establish a base for knowledge city formation. Findings – The paper sheds light on the different development approaches for creative urban regions, and concludes with recommendations for urban administrations planning for knowledge‐based development of creative urban regions. Originality/value – The paper provides invaluable insights and discussion on the vital role of planning for knowledge‐based urban development of creative urban regions.