Successfully Revitalizing Cities Requires These Two Things

• In a dynamic conversation on the Allwork.Space Future of Work podcast, Tim Rowe laid out a blueprint for transforming cities into thriving hubs of industry specialization.
• Beyond providing a platform for startups, Rowe has been instrumental in advocating for the role of coworking spaces in urban revitalization. 
• Drawing on historical examples and his own experiences, he believes that every city can become globally competitive by specializing in a particular industry.

This article is based on the Allwork.Space Future of Work Podcast episode featuring Tim Rowe, Founder and CEO of the Cambridge Innovation Center. Click here to listen to the full episode. 

In a dynamic conversation on the Allwork.Space Future of Work podcast, Tim Rowe unwrapped the blueprint for transforming cities into thriving hubs of industry specialization.

Rowe is a distinguished technology entrepreneur and an important figure in the coworking and innovation sector. As the Founder and CEO of the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), he has played a crucial role in creating a nurturing environment for startups and entrepreneurs. The CIC, under Rowe’s leadership, has emerged as a global leader in offering coworking, office, and lab spaces tailored for innovators — with 2,400+ clients globally. These clients include startups, scale-ups, enterprise companies, and more.

Beyond providing a platform for startups, Rowe has been instrumental in advocating for the role of coworking spaces in urban revitalization. Drawing on historical examples and his own experiences, he believes that every city can become globally competitive by specializing in a particular industry. 

For instance, CIC’s initiative in Providence, Rhode Island, to build an offshore wind hub has positioned the city as a global leader in offshore wind technologies, demonstrating the potential of focused industry specialization to transform local economies. 

Successful industry specialization requires more than shared workspaces; it is dependent on the development of an authentic community and culture.

The relationships and personal connections that form organically foster even greater levels of idea sharing and innovation.

A strong sense of identity that comes from a common purpose can take any location, regardless of size, and transform it into a globally recognized epicenter.

Rowe’s insights into the future of work emphasize the importance of community-building and intentional industry focus. 

“Finding the authenticity to build community is really important,” Rowe said. 

“Finding the authenticity to build community is really important,”

As cities and organizations grapple with the challenges of the post-COVID era, the principles championed by Rowe and CIC offer a roadmap for creating vibrant, sustainable urban ecosystems where businesses and individuals can flourish. 

“We started talking about workplace design, and that’s changing, and that’s exciting and it’s got more flexible. But in that process, with the big hammer of COVID sort of forcing us all briefly out of the workplace to sort of ask ourselves the question — did we even care? Do we even really want a workplace?” Rowe challenged on the podcast.

“They may not care about some of the things about the workplace, but they really care about that community. And that, I think, is what a lot of organizations now are using to drive their workplace strategy.”

A growing number of cities across the globe are discovering the economic benefits of strategic industry focus.

By identifying a particular sector where they can stand out on the global stage and pulling out all the stops to be the very best in that niche, cities and regions of all sizes have an opportunity to reinvigorate their economies.

“This is my big thing on the future of work is that it’s going to be about specialization leading in building community, going to the beginning of our call, our conversation, but in particular around those industries that you in your city have chosen, this is going to be our future, building that community deeply. I think that with that recipe, you can take some of these struggling cities around the world and give them purpose and direction,” Rowe said. 

Looking to the Future

Strategic industry specialization presents a forward-looking opportunity for cities seeking an economic renaissance.

By zeroing in on a niche where they can realistically aim to lead the world, and making the community-building and resource investments necessary to achieve that goal, locations of all types stand to become far more competitive players on the global stage.

“I believe any place can be successful, but I think the macro trend is to really pick a particular area that you can win at and pull out all the stops and just be the best, at least in your part of the world,” Rowe explained. 

“I believe any place can be successful, but I think the macro trend is to really pick a particular area that you can win at and pull out all the stops and just be the best, at least in your part of the world,”

The future of any city or region lies in determining where it has the greatest possibility of breaking out — and then making it happen.