Editing Science park (section)

== Background ==
The world's first university research park, [[Stanford Research Park]] was launched in 1951 as a cooperative venture between [[Stanford University]] and the [[Palo Alto, California|City of Palo Alto]].<ref name="Luger_Page_122">{{cite book |last1=Luger |first1=Michael I. |last2=Goldstein |first2=Harvey A. |title=Technology in the Garden: Research Parks and Regional Economic Development |date=1991 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |location=Chapel Hill |isbn=9780807843451 |page=122 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fdmj3_XcqmMC&pg=PA122}}</ref><ref name="Mozingo_Page_166">{{cite book |last1=Mozingo |first1=Louise A. |title=Pastoral Capitalism: A History of Suburban Corporate Landscapes |date=2011 |publisher=MIT Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=9780262338288 |page=166 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GrJIDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA166 |access-date=February 27, 2023}}</ref> Another early university research park was [[Research Triangle Park]] in [[North Carolina]], which was launched in 1959. In 1969, Pierre Laffitte founded the [[Sophia Antipolis|Sophia Antipolis Science Park]] in [[France]]. Laffitte had travelled widely and developed a theory of "cross-fertilisation" where individuals could benefit mutually by the exchange of thoughts in many fields including culture, science and the arts.

Science parks are elements of the infrastructure of the global "[[knowledge economy]]". They provide concentration that foster innovation and the development and commercialization of [[technology]] and where governments, universities and private companies may collaborate. The developers work in fields such as [[information technology]], [[pharmaceuticals]], [[science]] and [[engineering]]. Science parks may also offer a number of shared resources, such as incubators, programs and collaboration activities, [[uninterruptible power supply]], [[telecommunications]] hubs, reception and [[security]], management offices, [[bank]] offices, [[convention center]], [[parking]], and internal transportation.

Science parks also aim to bring together people who assist the developers of technology to bring their work to commercial fruition, for example, experts in [[intellectual property law]]. They can be attractive to university students who may interact with prospective employers and encourage students to remain in the local area.

Science parks may be designed to enhance the quality of life of the workers. For example, they might be built with sports facilities, restaurants, crèches or pleasant outdoor areas. Apart from tenants, science parks create jobs for the local community.<ref>[http://www.aurp.net/more/FinalBattelle.pdf Battelle-AURP Report: Characteristics and trends in North American Research Parks] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203003919/http://www.aurp.net/more/FinalBattelle.pdf |date=2008-12-03 }} AURP</ref>

Science parks are specific locations and differ from the wider area [[high-technology business district]]s in that they are more organized, planned, and managed. They differ from [[science centre]]s in that they lead to commercialized products from research. They differ from [[industrial park]]s which focus on manufacturing and from [[business park]]s which focus on business office locations.

Science parks are found worldwide. They are most common in [[developed country|developed countries]]. In [[North America]] there are over 170 science parks.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} For example, in the 1980s, [[North Carolina State University]], Raleigh lacked space. New possible sites included the state mental-health property and the Diocese of Raleigh property on {{convert|1000|acre|km2}} surrounding the [[Lake Raleigh Reservoir]]. The university's [[Centennial Campus]] was developed. [[Sandia Science and Technology Park]], [[NASA Research Park]] at Ames and the [[East Tennessee Technology Park]] at [[Oak Ridge National Laboratory]] are examples of research parks that have been developed by or adjacent to [[Federal government of the United States|US Federal government]] laboratories.

Science and technology park (STP) activity across the European Union has approximately doubled over the last 11–12 years,{{when|date=January 2023}} driven by the growth of the longer standing parks and the emergence of new parks. There are now{{when|date=January 2023}} an estimated 366 STPs in the EU member states that manage about 28 million m2 of completed building floor space, hosting circa 40,000 organisations that employ approximately 750,000 people, mostly in high value added jobs. In the period from 2000 – 2012, total capital investment into EU STPs was circa €11.7 billion (central estimate). During the same period, STPs spent circa €3 billion on the professional business support and innovation services they either deliver or finance to assist both their tenants and other similar knowledge based businesses in their locality.

Increasingly, the reasons why STPs are sound investments for public sector support are becoming better understood and articulated. The evidence base shows that better STPs are not simply the landlords of attractive and well specified office style buildings.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} Rather, they are complex organisations, often with multiple owners having objectives aligned with important elements of economic development public policy as well as an imperative to be financially self-sustaining in the longer term.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rowe |first1=David |title=Setting up, managing and Evaluating EU Science and Technology Parks |date=October 2013 |publisher=European Union |isbn=978-92-79-37274-2 |url=http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/studies/pdf/stp_report_en.pdf |access-date=26 October 2018}}</ref>