Urban systems and the competition to control knowledge. Publications and scientific patents in Chile, 2002-2015

The present paper approaches the relationship between Functional Urban Areas (FUAs), and production/application of knowledge, as defined by scientific publications and patenting trends. To do this, a ranking of six categories of FUA was established, from super summits to valleys, based on four indicators: (i) population; (ii) gross domestic product; (iii) published scientific articles; and (iv) requests for patent applications. The data collected were evaluated from basic descriptive statistics, calculating ranges in three levels by standard deviation and control tables. All the data was presented in columns which were subsequently comparatively analyzed. The result was a chronology of the dynamics of the main national FUAs in relation to the selected indicators, identifying trends toward specialization both in the production of knowledge and its use, as well as changes in the primacy of Santiago, the capital of the country, in relation to intermediate FUAs. Finally, new questions about the relationship between the FUAs’ urban qualities are raised and debated in terms of urban systems, competitiveness and knowledge