Our major initiative, the World Cities Culture Report 2015, was launched today in London. The findings from the report are too good not to share, so each day we are publishing an excerpt along with a reading list for delegates and researchers. Day one is focused on Innovation.

Theme 1: World Cities are Innovation Hubs for the Global Economy

World cities specialise in bringing people and ideas together. Historically, cities grew around markets but also around universities. They spawned coffee houses and public spaces, informal places where people could gossip and where new ideas could be born. Cities still work like this, and industries, especially knowledge industries, can still be found at the heart of cities, even though technology means they can be located anywhere in the world. Global cities are growing rapidly, sometimes reversing decades of decline. This growth attracts people from a variety of backgrounds from home and abroad, combining new ideas and energy. Patterns of historically high migration and the march of urbanisation suggests the growth will continue. Many opinion leaders interviewed for this report saw this diversity as a tremendous opportunity–economically, socially and culturally. World cities are key connection points in a global network of cities. They link their own countries to global markets, while supporting communication in and between themselves. With their diversity and connectivity, their tolerance and openness, it is unsurprising that world cities are leaders in culture and creativity.

Our innovation in cities reading list

• MIT News give a good primer on innovation in cities, reporting that as “the population of a city doubles, economic productivity goes up by an average of 130 percent.”

• Creative workers are an important part of this mix. This excellent Nesta working paper shows that creative industries firms are more likely to introduce original product innovations, and creative workers are a robust driver of innovation. The Art of Innovation may show why - attitudes, work practices, and the value that culture brings itself.

• For big cities, this advantage may be waning and cities are beginning to specialise.

• Forward-thinking policymakers are responding with initiatives using design and data in particular.

We’d love your recommendations for further reading – get in touch with us below.