COĞRAFİ YAKINLIK “HALA” ÖNEMLİ Mİ? YEREL İNOVASYON MODELLERİNDEN ÇOK-YERELLİ BİLGİ DİNAMİKLERİNE DÖNÜŞÜM*♦

Especially during the last 15-20 years, economists, economic geographers and planners dealing with regional development have devoted the large portion of their time to seeking a "new" model. The concepts which are developed in regional development focus on geographic proximity as a pioneering factor of innovation. However, “new” theories highlight the increased mobility of knowledge and the transfer of knowledge between long-distance places. Therefore, in addition to intra-regional networks, long distance and inter-regional Networks have also played a critical role.
In this study, the increasing importance of innovation-knowledge economy and the growing literature on network theory will be discussed. Firstly, the concepts of industrial zones, innovative environment, clusters, regional innovation systems and learning regions which can be defined as "Territorial Innovation Models" will be examined. Then, whether the “geographical” proximity is still important will be discussed in parallel with the transformations of innovation, knowledge and regional development and long distance interactions will be mentioned in terms of the new theories.