Knowledge Corridor

The Knowledge Corridor is term for the area comprising north-central Connecticut and the south-central Connecticut River Valley in Western Massachusetts (also known as Hartford-Springfield or the Hartford-Springfield Metropolitan Area). The term was initially used primarily by groups such as the Hartford-Springfield Economic Partnership to foster an economic, cultural, and civic partnership between the two major cities on the Connecticut River: Springfield, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut. The term Knowledge Corridor has gained currency in local parlance, with businesses and universities promoting their ties to the Knowledge Corridor, and even the White House recognizing the region as the Knowledge Corridor.

The two cities' urban cores lie only 23.9 miles (38.5 km) apart, however, Hartford's and Springfield's efforts to cooperate have long been hampered by state border issues, beginning with a lawsuit in 1638. Hartford's Bradley International Airport is the closest airport, which sits equidistant between them in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. The Hartford-Springfield Knowledge Corridor Partnership was formalized by regional civic, business, and education leaders in 2000 at the Big E in West Springfield. Hartford-Springfield is New England's most populous region after Greater Boston, with approximately 1.9 million residents and 160,000 university students. The region also features "a dense concentration" of hospitals and over 29 universities and liberal arts colleges, including a large number of the United States' most prestigious higher education institutions. The Knowledge Corridor includes surrounding cities such as Northampton and Amherst in the north, and Middletown, Connecticut in the south.