Toulouse : Embracing the knowledge economy. Pathways to creative and knowledge-based regions
Résumé
Toulouse, as a technopole and knowledge-intensive regional center, is neither in search of new activities nor of a shift in economic specialisation. Rather its aim is to maintain a cumulative process of capitalising and building on its assets in technical and human capital. The development of high technology such as satellite imagery and navigation should be seen in the continuation of activities generated by the aerospace industry. There is no search for a new economic profile, except where biotechnology and health are meant to replace chemical industries and diversify the economic base. But these sectors are also in the fields of high technology, research and development. In this respect, Toulouse does not have to 'reinvent himself' unlike regions or cities which previously specialised in manufactering. Toulouse has therefore good points of departure for creative knowledge city strategies.