The Emergence of the Urban Entrepreneur

Book launch hosted by LSE Cities

Combining emerging trends in collaboration, democratisation, and urbanisation, The Emergence of the Urban Entrepreneur examines the emergence of entrepreneurship and innovation as a primarily urban phenomenon, explains why urban environments are rapidly attracting global innovators across three distinct forms of “urbanpreneurship,” and lights the path forward for entrepreneurs, innovators, and city governments. Cities are increasingly dominating the economic stage on a global level. As a result, opportunities for entrepreneurs in the urban environment abound.

The world is urbanising rapidly. Currently, 600 cities account for 60 percent of the global economy; by 2025, it is predicted that the top 100 cities will account for 35 percent of the world’s economy. Emerging trends in collaboration, the sharing economy, and innovation are opening up new opportunities for entrepreneurs in urban environments—”urbanpreneurs”— to participate in everything from tech startups in cities (instead of suburban tech parks) to makers and on-demand service providers to roles in civic entrepreneurship for those interested in solving the challenges that growing cities are facing.

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Profiles

    Boyd Cohen

    Boyd Cohen, PhD, is professor of entrepreneurship and sustainability at EADA Business School in Barcelona, Spain, and joint professor at the Universitat de Vic. He has published more than a dozen peer-reviewed academic articles on entrepreneurship, sustainability, and smart cities and is the lead guest editor for a special issue of California Management Review titled, "The City as a Lab: Open Innovation Meets the Collaborative Economy." Cohen is the coauthor of the acclaimed book, Climate Capitalism: Capitalism in the Age of Climate Change and is a regular contributor to Fast Company. Cohen is currently a member of the United Nations Global Network on Digital Technologies for Sustainable Urbanization and is the founder of the boutique consultancy UrbanInnova. He received his doctorate in entrepreneurship and strategy from the University of Colorado Boulder.

    Dimitri Zenghelis

    Dimitri Zenghelis is Co-Head Climate Policy at the Grantham Research Institute at the LSE and Associate Fellow of the Energy, Environment and Development Programme at Chatham House.

    Philipp Rode

    Philipp Rode is Executive Director of LSE Cities and Associate Professorial Research Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science. As researcher, consultant and advisor he has been directing interdisciplinary projects comprising urban governance, transport, city planning and urban design at the LSE since 2003. The focus of his current work is on institutional structures and governance capacities of cities, and on sustainable urban development, transport and mobility. Rode is co-directing the cities workstream of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate and has co-led the United Nations Habitat III Policy Unit on Urban Governance. He is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP).