Geography & Genius: What Makes a City an Innovation Hotspot?
Picture a golden era in human history: what do you see? Bearded men, philosophizing in the Athenian agora circa 2000 BCE? Maybe you imagine the likes of Michelangelo and da Vinci, being all genius in their Florentine ateliers in the 15th century, or perhaps you think of the miracles that have emerged from Stanford dorm rooms and suburban garages in Silicon Valley. Whatever the case, there are particular times and places in human history when the stars seem to align and human creativity and innovation blossom.
Curious, isn’t it—why does human civilization take leaps forward at some points in time, but not in others? And does any place on earth have a monopoly on churning out geniuses? We’ve scoured our best titles on the history and nature of human innovation to try and decipher the factors behind these hotbeds of extreme development in human history.
The Lessons of History
- 21 min reading time
- audio version available
The root of all genius
Will and Ariel Durant also confirm in The Lessons of History that civilization is not a question of race; instead, it’s a question of place. And of any places in particular? Cities are often the most fertile ground for innovation. They are the perfect environment for ideas to grow, but not simply because of their multiculturalism. Industry plays a role as well, but not just any old city chock full of people and wire mills will work as a genius incubator: progress also requires the financial support provided by wealthy patrons and visionary investors who believe in the promise of a new industry. That takes a special kind of city—like Florence.
In the 15th Century, Florence was flourishing, which meant there was was a lot of money ready and waiting to be spent. Its citizens, comfortably employed and upwardly mobile, were eager and able to patronize art and invention. Plus, the Catholic Church was making a killing by selling indulgences, with which it financed some of the most incredible buildings of the Renaissance. The lively and vibrant commerce in Florence—its merchants traveled the world and brought new ideas with them—also fed the fires of innovation. Florence had the right proportions of ideas, talent, and financial backing to support an economy of genius.
Triumph of the City
- 15 min reading time
Talent attracts talent
In Where Good Ideas Come From, Steven Johnson shows that the most creative people tend to have the largest networks. Similarly, the best ideas come from connections, networks, and crowds. Edward Glaeser notes in his book The Triumph of the City, that so many creative people in one place, in conversation with one another, leads to high levels of innovation. Not unlike Calcutta, Ancient Athens was one such hotbed of invention and the perfect spot for “creative collisions.”
In early Athens, citizens took great pride and considered creating part of their civic duty to do their best and contribute their talents to society. This fostered healthy competition and a whole lot of new work. As mentioned above, the abundance of commissions for artists meant that they were always innovating and trying to one-up each other during the European Renaissance. And this setup isn’t so unlike the early years of Silicon Valley. Engineers flocked there to work with particular personalities, like James Clark and Fred Terman, the founder of Netscape and the Dean of Stanford Engineering School, respectively. With luminaries sending out a bright pulse to new talent from around the globe and those fresh perspectives creating, competing, and collaborating, the new economy blossomed.
Tomorrow’s epicenters of invention
By measuring and observing patterns deep beneath the earth’s surface, seismologists work to predict a geological event. So too can we keep the above ideas in mind when attempting to pinpoint the site of the next golden era. Intersecting cultures, ample financial resources, and flourishing cities that attract talent are the markers of the next Renaissance city.
