High-tech Fantasies: Science Parks in Society, Science and Space Book

This critical analysis intends to examine the underlying assumptions which science parks embody about science and society and their relation to geographically uneven development. It is argued that science parks are founded on a notion of scientific production and industrial innovation which is not only technically inappropriate but also intrinsically socially divisive. Moreover, the spatial form and symbolic spatial content of science parks - near to academia, far from physical production and with specific design characteristics - further increases their tendency to promote (and depend upon) social polarization. This polarization takes a precise geographical form, exemplified in the clustering of high-tech complexes in the semi-rural regions of the south and east of England. The book focuses on the tight and mutual relation between the forms of scientific production, social structures and geographical inequality, dismantling the popular concept of science parks to present an alternative conceptualization from which the real implications of science-park developments can be drawn.Read More