Many of the districts that turn research into production grow on a city's edge, around a university campus, an advanced-industry base, or a major item of public infrastructure. Drawing on a 2026 UTS study of European and Nordic ecosystems, this Insight examines Eindhoven, Dortmund, Kaiserslautern, Munich, and Stockholm. It sets out a policy architecture of seven interacting components, and asks what the record means for Australia's next generation of precincts.