On the Growth of U.S. Science Parks

A brief history of science parks in the U.S. from the early 1950s onward is traced. There is no generally accepted definition of science parks, but definitions include: (1) a real estate development, (2) an organizational program of activities for technology programs, or (3) a partnership among academic institutions, government, and the private sector. In 2002, 50 directors of science parks were interviewed. The findings, based on the interviews, lead to a new taxonomy of U.S. science parks, consisting of: real estate parks with no university affiliation, university research parks with tenant criteria, and university research parks with no tenant criteria. Explores which types of parks grow more rapidly.Real-estate parks tend to be larger than university-related parks. Most parks do not have an incubator facility. (CBS)