Digital and spatial knowledge management in urban governance: Emerging issues in India, Brazil, South Africa, and Peru

The main question concerns the ways in which knowledge management configurations (KM) within urban governance are being transformed through digitization and spatializing information (GIS). This question fits into broader discussions on how knowledge construction, circulation and utilization can improve competences in local government (efficiency and effectiveness), make urban planning more knowledge-based, and provide greater recognition of citizens' knowledge (accountability). Local governments need such instruments in dealing with increasing complexity and uncertainty in urban development. We examine how uneven patterns of technological change in using ICT and GIS are transforming current local government work processes in terms of efficiency and effectiveness in their outcomes, utilizing empirical data from extended case studies in six medium-sized cities in India, South Africa, Brazil, and Peru, participating in the Chance2Sustain research network. Knowledge management in cities is configured through several dimensions: 1) discourses for digitizing KM in local urban development; 2) actor networks producing socio-spatial knowledge; 3) embedding KM in decision-making processes (power struggles, exclusion); and 4) influences of KM on work practices and interfaces with citizens. The case study results show that 1) KM discourses concerned four issues: strategic urban planning and integrated land use planning; determining geographic boundaries in urban development discourses; streamlining work processes of local governments, and mapping poverty and needs assessments; 2) initiatives mainly link government with the private sector at various scale levels; 3) codified and technical knowledge remains dominant in discussions on urban development; and 4) effects of KM are uneven, but improve work process efficiency, although the interface with citizens remains limited, focusing on middle-class relations to the exclusion of the poor

Participatory spatial knowledge management tools: empowerment and upscaling or exclusion?

Different types of spatial knowledge (expert, sectoral, tacit and community) are strategic resources in urban planning and management. Participatory spatial knowledge management is a major method for eliciting various types of knowledge, providing a platform for knowledge integration and informing local action and public policy. Knowledge types linked to a specific geographical locality can be integrated through geographical information systems. Recent developments in geographical information and communication technology (geoICT) have extended the opportunities for participatory spatial knowledge production, use and exchange. However, data reliability of user-generated content, social exclusion due to dependence on technology and the interpretation and implications of digital maps are major concerns. The challenge is how to integrate and utilize multiple knowledge sources for improving urban management and governance. This paper integrates the literature on knowledge types and knowledge production processes with available geoICT tools for the production, use and exchange of knowledge sources and applies it to examples from Asia, Africa and Latin America. From this review, we provide a heuristic framework for assessing the extent to which participatory spatial knowledge management tools can be instrumental on several fronts. We argue that technological developments of knowledge production have not fully addressed important issues related to accountability, empowerment, control and use of knowledge. Moreover, these developments may foster social exclusion, which could detract from the benefits of participatory spatial knowledge management in the context of urban sustainability