How Cities Can Learn: Key Concepts, Role of ICT and Research Gaps

What is it about?

Learning in cities with the support of Information and Communication Technologies has been a point of interest for researchers. This has been propelled by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 4, which is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote Lifelong Learning opportunities for all. Citizens of cities are considered learners who learn in cities through formal and informal education processes enhanced by digital technology. Such Lifelong Learning considers that knowledge growth would enhance the functioning of cities, leading to an increase in the smartness of the cities. However, even though learning in a city by its citizens has been considered, the role of the city in the learning process and how a city itself as a system can learn to meet the emerging challenges and opportunities have not received research focus. Understanding how a city learns along with its citizens is essential to support twin transitions in cities and to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. We aim to explore how existing frameworks for city transformations consider learning in cities. We have conducted a scoping review of relevant literature identified and selected studies based on defined inclusion and exclusion criteria without having any publication date restrictions from peer-reviewed online research databases. Full texts of the studies were analysed, and their key characteristics were extracted, such as how a city has been considered, how learning in cities has been addressed, what interactions have been in focus in the context of learning and how ICT has been used to support learning in cities. This study presents the main concepts in the literature and the research gaps related to city learning. We conclude that research is required to develop a conceptual framework for city learning through interactions and knowledge exchange among the elements and stakeholders of a city utilising ICT support.

Featured Image