As urban populations surge towards 70% of humanity by 2050, innovation districts have emerged as critical catalysts for reimagining how cities generate prosperity, foster collaboration and create opportunity. Yet how do we ensure these districts deliver not just economic returns, but meaningful benefits for the communities they serve?

This paper presents a toolkit that distils best practice and tangible lessons from 10 inspiring innovation districts drawn from every continent. The toolkit is organized around three components – collaborative governance, human-centric placemaking and efficient digital infrastructure – which embody the World Economic Forum’s eight guiding principles for responsible innovation and translate them into practical steps.

Innovation districts represent our best opportunity to prototype solutions to the world’s many interconnected challenges. But they cannot succeed through technology or capital alone. They require principled approaches that balance economic vitality with environmental sustainability, global competitiveness with local inclusivity, technological advancement with human flourishing.