People interaction as the driving force of the knowledge city

Abstract: Several authors defend that the interaction between people of diverse areas help the interchange of information, and with this the production of innovation. Barcelona's knowledge city, under the 22@Barcelona Plan, modify its land use looking for the confluency of the different interested parts and the city hall through the 22@ Society promotes the creation of the 22@Network association. The objective of this association is to start this innovative milieu through the strengthening network between the stakeholders. This organizes meetings in rotative but improvised spaces. Thus, the questions which guide this paper are: Do knowledge city spaces strengthen the spontaneous interaction? Do these interactions events contribute to the construction of an inclusive city?The objectives of this work are: i). Identify the stakeholders in the construction of the knowledge city, in the different phases of the 22 @ plan, ii). Identify the different actions, both physical and social, aimed at interaction for innovation, and iii). Describe the type of interactions that are promoted through the 22 @ Network and its variants through both public and private institutions, and an approach to spontaneous interaction. To develop these objectives, a qualitative method is used, based on a case study. It starts with a review of the official documentation of the plan and its background, interviews with various stakeholders and participant observation between 2013 and 2016. This work seeks to give greater clarity to the actions that help build the so-called innovative environment, its successes and shortcomings in terms of interaction for innovation, inclusion and equity. We found that changes in land use arise prior agreement of actors from the public, private, academic and, to a certain extent, social sectors. The process involved a constant tension among the various actors due to their different interests. It reveals a very active society, whose power struggle is taking shape on the territory, with a strong intervention of the public and private sector. The interactions of innovation are mainly preconceived by the 22@Network association. This is an interaction aimed at joining forces, with no room for dissent, with low representation of the community. We also found that there is a synergy of spontaneous interaction that goes beyond what was foreseen and the district analysed.This work delves into an important area of the knowledge city, in the construction of the innovative milieu, whose progress is of fundamental importance when a large number of cities on four continents allocate resources to its construction.

Keywords: Innovative Milieu, Knowledge City, Network Of Innovation, Interaction People

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1001132

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