Knowledge and the multidimensional role of educational institutions in smart sustainable cities

Autores

  • Luciana Maines da Silva Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos - UNISINOS

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12712/rpca.v.201.70048

Resumo

Smart sustainable cities (SSCs) demand integrated social, environmental, and technological strategies. While universities are well-studied as urban knowledge hubs, the roles of schools and corporate universities remain underexplored. Based on a systematic literature review, this study proposes a multidimensional framework explaining how different educational institutions contribute to SSCs across five dimensions: knowledge, human capital, innovation, financing, and partnerships. The results show universities as central actors, schools as promoters of civic engagement and community-based innovation, and corporate universities as emerging contributors. Overall, the findings underscore the need for a comprehensive educational ecosystem to foster inclusive and adaptive urban development.

Downloads

Os dados de download ainda não estão disponíveis.

Referências

Adiego, J., & Martín-Cruz, N. (2021). Training competences in smart cities: An online program for higher education students. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 22(7), 1630–1645. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-07-2020-0276

Ahvenniemi, H., Huovila, A., Pinto-Seppä, I., & Airaksinen, M. (2017). What are the differences between sustainable and smart cities? Cities, 60, 234–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2016.09.009

Alawadhi, S., Aldama-Nalda, A., Chourabi, H., Gil-Garcia, J. R., Leung, S., Mellouli, S., ... & Walker, S. (2012). Building understanding of smart city initiatives. In M. A. Wimmer, J. L. Chappelet, M. Janssen, & H. J. Scholl (Eds.), Electronic government: 11th IFIP WG 8.5 International Conference, EGOV 2012, Kristiansand, Norway, September 3–6, 2012. Proceedings (Vol. 7443, pp. 40–53). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33489-4_4

Anttila, J., & Jussila, K. (2018). Universities and smart cities: The challenges to high quality. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 29(9–10), 1058–1073. https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2018.1486569

Ardito, L., Ferraris, A., Petruzzelli, A. M., Bresciani, S., & Del Giudice, M. (2019). The role of universities in the knowledge management of smart city projects. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 142, 312–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2018.07.030

Arnold, M. G. (2022). Sustainability service learning in economics. Journal of International Education in Business, 15(1), 106–125. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIEB-08-2021-0065

Banrisul. (2025). BanriHub. Retrieved January 30, 2025, from https://lp.banrisul.com.br/bdg/link/banrihub.html

Becker, G. S. (1964). Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education. University of Chicago Press.

Chaudhary, S., Kaur, P., Alofaysan, H., Halberstadt, J., & Dhir, A. (2023). Connecting the dots? Entrepreneurial ecosystems and sustainable entrepreneurship as pathways to sustainability. Business Strategy and the Environment, 32(8), 5935–5951. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3530

Chesbrough, H. W. (2003). Open innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. Harvard Business School Press.

Cho, E., Cho, Y. H., Grant, M. M., Song, D., & Huh, Y. (2020). Trends of educational technology in Korea and the US: A report on the AECT-Korean Society for Educational Technology (KSET) panel discussion. TechTrends, 64, 357–360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-020-00485-1

Clement, J., Manjon, M., & Crutzen, N. (2022). Factors for collaboration amongst smart city stakeholders: A local government perspective. Government Information Quarterly, 39(4), 101746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2022.101746

Curto, R., Barreca, A., Coscia, C., Ferrando, D. G., Fregonara, E., & Rolando, D. (2021). The active role of students, teachers, and stakeholders in managing economic and cultural value, urban and built heritage. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.14434/ijpbl.v15i1.30229

de Souza, A. Z., Alencar, P., & Cowan, D. (2024, September). Postsecondary organizations and their role in advancing sustainable smart cities: Towards a system-oriented perspective. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 9, Article 1296594). Frontiers Media SA. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1296594

Dutta, D., & Chandrasekharan, S. (2024). “We never even touched plants this way”: School gardens as an embodied context for motivating environmental actions. Environmental Education Research, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2024.2330954

Erasmus+. (2023). SMARTWB – Modernizing academic teaching and curricula to support climate-smart urban development. Retrieved August 5, 2025, from https://uet.edu.al/en/portfolio/17224/

Etzkowitz, H. (1993). Technology transfer: The second academic revolution. Technology Access Report, 6, 7.

Etzkowitz, H., & Leydesdorff, L. (2000). The dynamics of innovation: From National Systems and “Mode 2” to a Triple Helix of university–industry–government relations. Research Policy, 29(2), 109–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-7333(99)00055-4

Eugenio-Gozalbo, M., Ramos-Truchero, G., & Suárez-López, R. (2021). University gardens for sustainable citizenship: Assessing the impacts of garden-based learning on environmental and food education at Spanish higher education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 22(3), 516–534. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-03-2020-0092

Falzon, D., Conrad, E., & Camilleri, L. (2024). Outdoor and nature-based teaching in small, urban primary school contexts. Environmental Education Research, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2024.2329951

Fernandez-Anez, V., Fernández-Güell, J. M., & Giffinger, R. (2018). Smart city implementation and discourses: An integrated conceptual model. The case of Vienna. Cities, 78, 4–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2017.12.004

Ferraris, A., Belyaeva, Z., & Bresciani, S. (2020). The role of universities in the smart city innovation: Multistakeholder integration and engagement perspectives. Journal of Business Research, 119, 163–171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.11.030

Giffinger, R., Fertner, C., Kramar, H., & Meijers, E. (2007). City-ranking of European medium-sized cities. Centre of Regional Science, Vienna UT, 9(1), 1–12.

Grimaldi, D., & Fernandez, V. (2017). The alignment of university curricula with the building of a smart city: A case study from Barcelona. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 123, 298–306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2016.03.011

Han, J. (2024). Open innovation in a smart city context: The case of Sejong smart city initiative. European Journal of Innovation Management. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJIM-02-2024-0090

Hope, A. (2016). Creating sustainable cities through knowledge exchange: A case study of knowledge transfer partnerships. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 17(6), 796–811. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-05-2015-0084

Hsiao, H. S., Chen, J. H., Chang, T. L., Li, P. H., & Chung, G. H. (2024). A study on the effects of using the 6E model and a robot teaching assistant on junior high school students’ STEM knowledge, learning motivation, and hands-on performance. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-024-10101-5

International Organization for Standardization. (2012). ISO/TC 268 Sustainable cities and communities. ISO Copyright Office.

Jordan, R., Agi, K., Arora, S., Christodoulou, C. G., Schamiloglu, E., Koechner, D., ... & Lehr, J. (2021). Peace engineering in practice: A case study at the University of New Mexico. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 173, 121113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121113

Kim, J. S., & Feng, Y. (2024). Understanding complex viewpoints in smart sustainable cities: The experience of Suzhou, China. Cities, 147, 104832. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2023.104832

Lombardi, P., Giordano, S., Caragliu, A., Del Bo, C., Deakin, M., Nijkamp, P., ... & Farouh, H. (2012). An advanced triple-helix network model for smart cities performance. In Regional development: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications (pp. 1548–1562). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-0882-5.ch819

Mayangsari, L., & Novani, S. (2015). Multistakeholder co-creation analysis in smart city management: An experience from Bandung, Indonesia. Procedia Manufacturing, 4, 315–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2015.11.045

Meister, J. (1999). Corporate education: The management of intellectual capital through the corporate university. São Paulo: Makron Books.

Myeong, S., Park, J., & Lee, M. (2022). Research models and methodologies on the smart city: A systematic literature review. Sustainability, 14(3), 1687. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031687

Nonaka, I., & Takeuchi, H. (1995). The knowledge-creating company: How Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation. Oxford University Press.

Nuwategeka, E., Mirembe, D. D., Milligan, L. O., & Aciro, T. (2024). Conflicted epistemologies in secondary school environmental education: Implications for sustainable climate action in Uganda. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2024.2314526

Nuseir, M. T., Basheer, M. F., & Aljumah, A. (2020). Antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions in smart city of Neom Saudi Arabia: Does the entrepreneurial education on artificial intelligence matter? Cogent Business & Management, 7(1), 1825041. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2020.1825041

Ortiz-Fournier, L. V., Márquez, E., Flores, F. R., Rivera-Vázquez, J. C., & Colon, P. A. (2010). Integrating educational institutions to produce intellectual capital for sustainability in Caguas, Puerto Rico. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 8(3), 203–215. https://doi.org/10.1057/kmrp.2010.17

Pedrini, L., Romito, M., Domaneschi, L., & Navarini, G. (2024). Environmentality in (food) sustainability education: An analysis of a pedagogic intervention in Italy. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2024.2324531

Ratajczyk, N., Wagner, I., Wolanska-Kaminska, A., Jurczak, T., & Zalewski, M. (2017). University’s multi-scale initiatives for redefining city development. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 18(1), 50–62. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-03-2015-0053

Rosyadi, B. R. (2024). Teachers’ belief and practice in environmental education: Evidence from an Indonesian Islamic primary school. Education 3–13, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2024.2345996

Sánchez-Serrano, S. (2022). The temporal dimension in the social and political participation experience of the Iberoamerican youth. Foro de Educación, 20(1), 158–172. https://doi.org/10.14516/fde.933

Santos, D. (2022). Building entrepreneurial ecosystems: The case of Coimbra. Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management, 13(1), 73–89. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTPM-03-2021-0034

Steils, N., Hanine, S., Rochdane, H., & Hamdani, S. (2021). Urban crowdsourcing: Stakeholder selection and dynamic knowledge flows in high and low complexity projects. Industrial Marketing Management, 94, 164–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2020.05.008

Svarstad, L. K., & Risager, K. (2024). A cycle model of intercultural learning: Educating the global citizen. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 37(2), 155–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2023.2171222

van der Hoogen, A., Scholtz, B., & Calitz, A. (2019, March). A smart city stakeholder classification model. In 2019 Conference on Information Communications Technology and Society (ICTAS) (pp. 1–6). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICTAS.2019.8703584

van der Hoogen, A., Scholtz, B., & Calitz, A. P. (2020, April). Using theories to design a value alignment model for smart city initiatives. In Conference on e-Business, e-Services and e-Society (pp. 55–66). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45002-1_5

Wolsink, M. (2016). Environmental education excursions and proximity to urban green space–Densification in a ‘compact city’. Environmental Education Research, 22(7), 1049–1071. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2015.1075195

Yoshida, M., & Thammetar, T. (2021). Education between govtech and civic tech. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), 16(4), 52–68. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v16i04.18119

Downloads

Publicado

2026-07-09

Edição

v. 20 n. 1 (2026)

Seção

Artigos/Papers

Licença

Os autores mantêm os direitos autorais e concedem à revista o direito de primeira publicação, com o trabalho simultaneamente licenciado sob a Creative Commons Attribution License, permitindo o compartilhamento do trabalho com reconhecimento da autoria e publicação inicial nesta revista. 

A Revista usa o CC BY. Essa licença permite que outras pessoas distribuam, remixem, adaptem e desenvolvam seu trabalho, mesmo comercialmente, desde que sejam creditadas pela criação original. Essa é a licença mais flexível oferecida. Recomendado para máxima disseminação e uso de materiais licenciados.

Os autores têm autorização para assumir contratos adicionais separadamente, para distribuição não-exclusiva da versão do trabalho publicada nesta revista (ex.: publicar em repositório institucional ou como capítulo de livro), sempre com reconhecimento de autoria e publicação inicial nesta revista.

A Revista ulitiliza o DOI (Digital Object Identifier ) desde 2007 O DOI com a finalidade de autenticar cada artigo, portanto seu conteúdo digital.