Technology parks: between innovation and real estate rents in the context of Recife, Brazil

Abstract Technology parks are generally implemented in order to turn its location into a competitive space integrated into the global knowledge economy. This is the case of Porto Digital, launched in 2000 by the Government of the State of Pernambuco and located in the Historic Center of Recife, Northeastern Brazil. Investments in infrastructure have been made by the public sector since then, and old buildings have been refurbished both by this sector and by the private sphere. Furthermore, fiscal and financial incentives have been given by the local government to attract firms to the park. Altogether, this process has led to changes in the spatial dynamics of the Historic Center’s land market, more precisely within the so-called Bairro do Recife, where Porto Digital is located. In light of these evidences, the present paper aims at investigating the extent to which the real state component was an important feature to the development of the Porto Digital Project, by means of creating mechanisms that prevent the recovery of the social surplus value produced by land valuation.