During the last several decades, the diversification of economic activities has become a paramount policy for nations and cities with heavy dependence on a single economic driver. Particularly island economies, relying mainly on tourism income, are among the most vulnerable ones to the shocks of global financial crises. In the recent years, some of these tourist islands had attempts to diversify their economic activities by moving towards a knowledge and innovation economy. This paper places one of these islands—Florianópolis, the capital city of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina—under the microscope to address the question of ‘what it takes to transform a tourist island into an innovation capital’. In order to tackle this question, the study examines economic, social, spatial, and governance conditions and performances, along with the plans and processes of Florianópolis in moving towards an internationally recognized smart innovation island. The methodologic approach includes systematic review of the literature and qualitative analysis of the key development domains of Florianópolis through the lens of knowledge-based urban development. The results of this study provide insights into how to transform a resource-based economy into a knowledge-based one—by disclosing the transition journey of Florianópolis, including progress, challenges, and the new path creation processes. The findings are particularly useful for tourist islands that are aiming for an aspiring knowledge-based urban development and smart city transformation.

Unarguably, smart, sustainable, and knowledge-based development is critical for securing a livable future for our rapidly urbanizing world. The aim of this study is to generate insights into determining effective and efficient strategies to increase sustainability and innovation capabilities of cities to achieve long-term desired urban outcomes. This paper places the city of Florianópolis (Brazil) under the smart, sustainable, and knowledge-based urban development microscope. The methodological approach of the study involves a qualitative analysis through surveys (100 submitted forms, 55 responses received) and interviews (12) with key experts and stakeholders from Florianópolis. The findings of the study reveal that Florianópolis’ innovation ecosystem has high potential to thrive, but the city still has structural issues to deal with first, related to the gap between the potential to grow, and acknowledgement from key actors of the city to support the overall territory development considering the complex dimensions. This issue suggests amplifying the ecosystem’s vision, including different sectors and, especially, addressing innovation for the common good. The insights generated from the investigation of Florianópolis’ case are also invaluable to other cities’ planning for strategizing their transformation, and seeking smart, sustainable, and knowledge-based development pathways.

International Journal of Knowledge Engineering and Management (IJKEM) é uma publicação internacional e multidisciplinar e interdisciplinar do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia e Gestão do Conhecimento da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina.

This paper aims to analyse an initiative of a multidisciplinary group that co-produced guidelines for interventions in a public park, under the lens of the multidimensional smart city framework proposed by Yigitcanlar et al. (2018). For this analysis we used the action research method to collectively create solutions for this city asset. With the results, it is possible to state that the group's work took place as a collective co-production. Regarding the framework proposal, the community represented the mobilising force which contributed to another driver's development, public policies; whereas the technology aspect had a modest representation as a tool. In the group members evaluation, the perceived value of collective work stood out. The action research methodology was adequate, converging with the co-production and smart cities stages presented in the literature.

A governança urbana requer soluções interdisciplinares e inovadoras que aproveitem a inteligência, o conhecimento e as habilidades de diferentes atores que compõem o ecossistema das cidades. Este estudo apresenta uma experiência prática diferenciada, que envolveu a sociedade civil, a academia e os setores público e privado, na definição de estratégias, projetos e ações a serem desenvolvidos na região sul de Florianópolis. O estudo de caso em governança integrou um dos eixos das ações do Workshop Cidades mais Humanas, Inteligentes e Sustentáveis (CHIS), organizado pelo LabCHIS, laboratório de pesquisa do Departamento de Engenharia e Gestão do Conhecimento, da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, para a definição do projeto de utilização da área da Fazenda da Ressacada. A pesquisa foi exploratória e descritiva, com abordagem qualitativa, e utilizou a ferramenta de Design Thinking para propor uma solução de governança urbana apoiada em ferramentas digitais.