Resumen
The paper analyzes the prominent 22@ Innovation District project, which was initiated at the beginning of the 2000s by the city of Barcelona to regenerate part of the Poblenou district, a former industrial area. The goal was to create an innovation district able to generate economic activity and employment by focusing on knowledge economy and new technologies. The innovative features of the project emphasize the uncertainty and the need to adapt to new technologies and their economic and social influence in urban regeneration projects. The paper uses the adaptive governance framework to analyze how the dynamic process of urban regeneration and creation of an innovation district has been able to adapt to internal and external changes of political, economic and technological nature. Adaptive governance has been conceptualized by focusing on three key aspects (i.e., level of complexity, conflict and uncertainty) and three main actions (i.e., anticipate, learn and adapt) that have been considered in the case study. These elements emphasize the need for bridging organizations that are able to work cross-level and cross-scale. The article shows the suitability of adaptive governance systems in urban regeneration projects, aiming to combine top-down and bottom-up initiatives within a comprehensive strategy.