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boltInnovation Intensity

chevron-rightDefinitionhashtag

Innovation Intensity measures the proportion of innovative employment within a region’s total population. High levels of innovation intensity, typically 20-30%, indicate a strong focus on knowledge-driven industries, with innovation districts requiring 35-40% to unlock multiplying effects. This metric highlights the workforce’s engagement in activities such as R&D, technology transfer, and advanced production, serving as a critical indicator of a region’s innovation capacity.

chevron-rightNavigationhashtag

Innovation Intensity is presented as a heatmap showing the share of innovative employment across neighborhoods:

  • Blue areas represent high intensity, with a large proportion of the workforce in knowledge-intensive roles.

  • Red areas indicate low innovation intensity and a weaker innovation-oriented labor base.

  • Clicking on a location reveals its Innovation Intensity Score as a percentage.

  • Sidebar visualizations show how each area’s intensity compares to others in the city.

chevron-rightMethodologyhashtag

This indicator is based on the share of employees working in businesses classified as innovation-intensive. These include firms engaged in research, technology transfer, and advanced production.

For each spatial unit (e.g. block or neighborhood):

  • Identify all businesses located in the area

  • Filter for knowledge-intensive businesses using Aretian’s innovation classification

  • Sum the number of employees at these firms

  • Divide by the total number of employees in the area to calculate the share of innovation employment

chevron-rightCalculationhashtag

For each building group g:

αint(g)=∑i=1n(βi⋅κi)⋅100∑i=1nβi \alpha_{\text{int}}(g) = \frac{ \sum_{i=1}^{n} (\beta_i \cdot \kappa_i) \cdot 100 }{ \sum_{i=1}^{n} \beta_i }

Where:

  • αint(g)\alpha_{int}(g)= Innovation Intensity

  • i∈[1,n]i\in[1,n]= domain of values describing each geo-located business in the U.S.

  • βi\beta_{i}= Number of employees working in the business location (i)

  • g∈[1,m]g\in[1,m]= domain of values describing each building group

  • δg\delta_g= Number of residents within a building group (g)

chevron-rightInterpretationhashtag

  • Higher Innovation Intensity scores indicate a strong innovation workforce and capacity for sustained knowledge-based development.

  • Mid-range scores suggest potential for innovation growth, especially with targeted support.

  • Low scores may reflect a dominance of traditional sectors or a lack of innovation infrastructure.

This KPI is especially useful when evaluating innovation districts or monitoring workforce development strategies.

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