Urban Manufacturing!
In an increasingly digital economy, the place of residence no longer plays such a big role. In addition, there is a steadily growing shortage of skilled workers, so that companies are now considering locating where there is the highest availability of skilled workers. This is likely to remain urban areas for some time, even if the trend weakened in the covid pandemic.
More than ten years ago, we prepared an internal study on user-centred location development for an economic region. The core focus was on high-tech companies whose needs were to be taken into account in settlement processes. By high-tech companies we did not just mean the “Googles” and “Facebooks” of today’s economy, but companies in general that operate with the most modern means, i.e. also manufacturing industry. Larger companies looking for a new location were interested in having a university close to them geographically. This was in order to ensure an exchange with science and teaching and to be able to attract graduates with attractive offers in relative proximity. Google leads the way: in 2004, the American company started in Zurich with two employees. Today, the high-tech company offers around 5,000 jobs in Zurich. This is not only because Zurich is a beautiful city, but above all because the renowned “Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule” (ETH) is at home in Zurich. The study also showed that employees of such companies look for a wide range of local leisure and cultural activities, i.e. short distances. Even if land prices are higher in the city than in the countryside: many companies attach importance to “exciting” buildings for their corporate base (see exemplary article picture). The city often offers interesting brownfield sites where industrial companies used to be located. As a PR effect and from the perspective of good employer branding, this should not be underestimated.
So why should urban locations consider creating more offers for manufacturing industry again in the future? The answer: underused areas are functionally mixed and thus upgraded. The municipality contributes to shorter distances, relieves the sometimes overburdened local transport system, the commuter volume is reduced, which leads to an increased sustainability of a location. By creating jobs in the municipality, purchasing power is increased, which in turn increases business tax revenues. Urban manufacturing is a megatrend that distinguishes between “urban industry”, “urban manufactures” (handicrafts) and “urban agriculture” (urban farming). A future topic that is very interesting for every city and urban region and should be kept in mind as a topic in location development. Why not create a picture of the future that shows what a sustainable location could look like in the future with a healthy mix of manufacturing, leisure and housing?
Swiss Association for Location Management SVSM – the umbrella organisation for location and business development
The SVSM is a practice-oriented and independent contact point for questions on the topic of location management and business development. As an umbrella association, it has around 80 members from the fields of location management, regional marketing, business development and real estate. The association promotes the interdisciplinary exchange of experience and networking and is committed to professionalism in location management. With the event series “SVSM Dialog”, the SVSM organises a semi-annual hybrid specialist conference with a changing focus on location management or economic development. Since 2007, the organisation has presented the SVSM Awards for innovative projects in location and business development and elected a deserving personality as location manager of the year.