**Acknowledgements**

**Figure 15.** Complimentary shared spaces (author's picture).

196 Sustainable Urbanization

**Figure 16.** Venture Café (author's picture).

In conclusion, it is essential to complement S3 implementation with spatial interventions of the built environment that may facilitate the construction of a *physical ecosystem* supportive of innovation. These spaces include: shared spaces and private small businesses facilitating interaction, both informal and formal, both specialised and multi-disciplinary; public services

This chapter has been developed thanks to the field work made possible within the research project MAPS-LED, Multidisciplinary Approach for Planning Smart specialisation strategy for Local Economic Development, granted by the European Commission through the Horizon 2020 RISE program, project number: 645651. The author thanks all the interviewed experts, that generously provided her with suggestions and comments that were essential in develop‐ ing the chapter and the research team based at the Senseable City Laboratory, MIT, Cambridge Boston, for the valuable insights gathered during the research presentation held in April 2016. However, the author is entirely responsible for any statement and any possible misunder‐ standing is her own responsibility. This chapter systematises and puts forward the preliminary findings of the author from the first year research activity on MAPS-LED, developed in the US and complemented by further research conducted in the UK and in Italy. This latter has been developed thanks to the teaching activities of the author both as PGR supervisor at SOBE and on the International Doctorate on Urban Regeneration and Economic Development. The author thanks the UK and Italian researchers, who contributed to build the UK and Italian exploratory case studies, in particular Clare Devaney, Vincenzo Crea, Arnauld Morisson and Giuseppa Romeo.
