We analyze the effect of the rise of knowledge-based activities on spatial inequality within U.S. cities. We exploit the network of patent citations to instrument for local trends in innovation. Innovation intensity is responsible for 14% of the overall increase in urban segregation between 1990...

Using a newly assembled dataset of U.S. patents, we show that overall innovation activity is less concentrated in high-density urban areas than commonly believed, but inventions based on atypical combinations of knowledge are indeed more prevalent in high-density cities. To interpret this...