Technopolis is ... The meaning of the word "technopolis" in various spheres of life

Megapolis, technopolis are Greek words, which designate quite modern concepts. In Russian, these terms have been actively used recently. And if everything is clear with a megapolis, then a technopolis is a rare word and that is why not everyone understands.

Not at all a new novelty

As is known, the "policy" in Greek is a city. The prefix "techno" speaks for itself. Technical city. What does it mean? Is this a city with a developed technical infrastructure? Industrial city? A state-of-the-art city, stuffed with electronics and other technology wonders?

In fact, technopolis in Russia is not uncommon. They have existed for a long time, everyone knows about them. Just before they were called not so beautiful. After all, in fact, a technopolis is an ordinary scientific town. There were enough of them in the Soviet Union, and after the collapse of the country, a considerable part of this heritage went to Russia.

What is technopolis?

Technopolis is a city engaged in science and high technologies. A separate housing complex, entirely focused on science and only on it. There were such technopolises around complex science-intensive complexes. These could be institutes or research centers of various specialization, extremely important technical facilities that require a large number of scientific personnel. In a word, in the center of the technopolis is a science-intensive core.

Hence, in this place should be concentrated a large number of scientists. It is impossible to find among the inhabitants of a single region a sufficient number of scientific workers of the required profile. Hence, they need to be invited, and not for short-term work under the contract, but on an ongoing basis. To do this, they must provide shelter. Scientists are also people, they have families and children, they buy food and stuff, get sick, go to the cinemas. Consequently, the technopolis must provide its residents with everything necessary. Kindergartens, schools, shops, various institutions and organizations. Technopolis is a full-scale cultural, household, residential, research and production, educational zone, created specifically to meet the needs of employees of the parent enterprise.

Silicon Valley

Technopolis cities exist all over the world. The most famous of them is the legendary Silicon Valley. At first Stanford University was founded, then, after 10 years - the scientific and technological park. By 1960, there were already offices of 25 firms engaged exclusively in high technology. By 1980, there were 36 such parks. Research centers and laboratories had grown into a residential area, necessary infrastructures, and a technopolis, known all over the world, arose. The state support program played a significant role in this.

It was the government that was able to engage in high-tech research on California business.

Profitable science

Tax benefits were extended only to companies that are engaged in science, and many firms seized on this loophole, trying to minimize payments. They gave large orders to the institute's laboratories and research centers, while receiving a double benefit: they reduced tax payments and increased their own technological potential.

Institutional situation was also very useful: financial injections and huge orders made it possible to attract the best specialists and expand the research base.

Of course, the state also won. Yes, the income from taxation of entrepreneurs was less. But scientific developments, paid for by businessmen, led to a scientific and technological leap. To this day, the US occupies a leading position in the field of electronics and programming, and these are billions and billions of dollars annually.

Japanese technopolis

With the creation of Silicon Valley, the world has realized the benefits of such an organization of the scientific and technical process. Technopolises began to arise all over the planet. England, France, China, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand. Technopolicy of Japan differ in a special way. This country has neither extensive territory nor natural riches. There is nowhere to place large-scale production, and existing capacities have already reached the maximum level of development and have been deprived of the opportunity to develop further. What was needed was not a quantitative, but a qualitative leap. The idea of a technopolis for this suited as well as possible.

The government of the country went on a verified path - promised tax benefits. The leadership of the country announced the directions of scientific activity, which the residents of the technopolis were supposed to develop. Prefectures appealed to the institutes and universities located on their territories with the request to make plans for the creation of profile technopolises. The best projects and received the promised tax benefits and subsidies.

This is how Japan has led the leading positions in the field of electronics and robotics.

Academgorodok of the USSR

In the USSR, scientific towns and academic towns have existed for a long time. But each of them is a real technopolis. Moscow paid much attention to the technical development of the country. Space technology, for example, is characterized by monstrous science and resource intensity. And this area of knowledge in the USSR was given much attention. Each cosmodrome is thousands of scientists, tens of thousands of workers. A real technopolis, providing the work of the most complicated scientific and industrial complex.

There were academic towns dealing with military and medical developments, scientific towns in which physicists, chemists, and electronics professionals lived. Yes, cybernetics in the USSR was considered the prodigal daughter of capitalism. But this in no way meant that science in the country did not develop. Financing of various kinds of research has always been a significant part of the expenditure of state funds in the USSR.

In a sense, such an organization of scientific work was even better. The branches of science were financed, the business is absolutely not interesting, it does not promise any income in the foreseeable future. The contribution of the inhabitants of Soviet Academgorodoks to world science is invaluable.

The Skolkovo project

Now a new technopolis is being created in Russia. Moscow, and the exact Moscow suburbs, will be the location of a huge research and development complex, in which thousands of scientists will work. The project to create an analogue of Silicon Valley in Skolkovo has long passed from the planning stage to the stage of incarnation. It will be the largest scientific and innovative center engaged in research in the field of high technology, electronics and space research.

The regional development strategy involves allocating significant amounts for such projects. Yes, there are a lot of areas that require immediate financial assistance from the state. And most of them look more vital than high technologies. But, as experience of other countries shows, this is an erroneous position. Investing in science and development is necessary just as it is necessary to allocate part of the grain for crops. Yes, you can eat now - but then there will be nothing to reap.