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| Research parks have been defined by Luger and Goldstein (1991, p.5) as “organizational entities that sell or lease spatially contiguous land and/or buildings to businesses or other organizations whose principal activities are basic or applied research or development of new products or processes.” This definition excludes high-technology centers such as Silicon Valley, industrial parks, and office parks. Most research parks are affiliated with one or more universities, and are focused on attracting research and development firms. |
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The Association of University Related Research Parks defines the term research park or science park as a property-based venture that has: 
Existing or prospective land and buildings intended primarily for private
and public research and development facilities, high-technology and science-based
companies, and support services;
A contractual and/or formal ownership or operational relationship with
one or more universities or other institutions of higher education, and
science research;
A role in promoting research and development by the university in partnership
with industry, assisting in the growth of new ventures, and promoting economic
development; and
A role in aiding the transfer of technology and business skills between
the university and industry tenants. |
| It is
difficult to lump all research parks together because they can vary so
much in terms of their:
Location can vary considerably from an exclusively urban setting to a much
more rural (office park-like) site.
The immediate economic, political, and social environments surrounding
each research park also vary.
The actual organization, management, legal status, and size can vary tremendously
throughout the country. |
A Bit of History about Research Parks
| The research
park concept evolved from what is known to real estate developers as industrial
parks. The first industrial park or industrial district in the United
States was the Central Manufacturing District in Chicago established in
1905. The idea of concentrating industries in one location really
caught on in the U.S. after World War II. The first research park,
by definition, was established in Menlo Park, California in 1948.
Industry soon realized the advantages of a site proximate to a university,
and so a flurry of research park development emerged in the late 70s and
80s.
In the 50s and early 60s, the most renowned research parks were developed: Stanford Industrial Park (est. 1953), in the Silicon Valley of northern California, Research Triangle Park (est. 1958) in North Carolina, and Waltham Industrial Center (est. 1954) and other developments on Boston's Route 128. Since these three parks were successful in attracting high-technology businesses and have truly become centers of technological development, many other regions have placed a lot of money and hope into their own research park ventures. |
Some Facts and Figures about Research Parks
|
There
are currently more than 150 research parks in North America, of which
136 are located in the United States.
Stanford Industrial Park was the first university-related research park
in the U.S., while Research Triangle Park (RTP) is the currently the largest
university-related research
park.
RTP constitutes for 5,000 acres centered between the three major universities
of Duke University in Durham, University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill,
and North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
The
AURRP represents about 75% of the research parks in North America as well
as research parks from 31 countries.
Currently,
there are about 140 research parks in the United States at varying stages
of development.
Every
state in the United States has at least one research park, most have two
or three.
As
of December 1993, 4,000 companies were located in 133 research parks nationally,
employing 225,000 workers in over 100 million square feet of space. |
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