The Knowledge City

Title	The Knowledge City
Weblog	Knowledge Log
Posted Date	Monday 25 August 2003 11:47 GDT
Posted By	David Gurteen
Links	http://www.bcn.es/accentcultura/angl/webang.doc
Categories	Knowledge Space
del.icio.us Tags	knowledge_space
People	Leif Edvinsson
Country	Barcelona; Liverpool

More recently, I have been looking to identify the major "knowledge cities" of the world. And as Steve Searle in New Zealand pointed out a starting point is to identify which cities have a University and an International Airport.

But then I though why not search for the term Knowledge City and see if the term is in use.

And wow! Bingo! Barcelona! Just look at this word document I found CULTURE, THE MOTOR OF THE KNOWLEDGE CITY Strategic Plan of the Cultural Sector of Barcelona Its a very interesting 20 page document. Here are just a few of the attributes they list for Barcelona but they form a check-list for any city claiming to be a "knowledge city":

• A city that has instruments to make knowledge accessible to citizens.
• A network of public libraries that is compatible with the European standards.
• Access to the new communication technologies for all citizens.
• All cultural facilities and services with a central educational strategy.
• A city that has a newspaper- and book-reading level that is similar to the average European level.
• A city that has a network of schools connected with artistic instruction throughout its territory.
• A city that is respectful of the diversity of cultural practices of its citizens.
• A city that places the streets at the service of culture.
• A city that simplifies, through the provision of spaces and resources, the cultural activity of the community collectivities and associations.
• A city with civic centres that are open to diversity and that foster face-to-face relations.
• A city that makes available to citizens from other territories all the tools required for them to express themselves.