Geographies of Knowledge and Sustainable Development: Towards a Conceptual Model with Research Propositions

Abstract

Though interest in the knowledge-based sustainable development has grown exponentially in recent years, a general model to guide this interest remained elusive. Geographies of knowledge and sustainable development have each been the subject of much scholarly attention. However, they have been considered independently rather than interactively, from a multi-spatial perspective. A comprehensive understanding of sustainable development is possible, if the disjointed geographies of knowledge of the wider society are integrated. The purpose of this paper is to integrate the literature on the geographies of knowledge towards an understanding of sustainable development. A comprehensive review and synthesis of the literature on geographies of knowledge and sustainable development were undertaken. The paper demonstrates that though the geographies of knowledge differ and the pursuit of sustainable development in the spatial levels of the wider society are fragmented, bringing these two ideas together are essential, if development must be truly sustainable. This paper proposes an innovative conceptual model that illustrates the link between the spatial dynamics of the knowledge economies and sustainable development. Our understanding of societal transformation would be far better if the different kinds of knowledge embedded within the local, regional, national, and global contexts are interlinked towards an understanding of sustainable development. Given the important role that geographies of knowledge play in addressing social, economic, and environmental sustainability issues, this paper also provides a comprehensive understanding of the connection between the knowledge economies and sustainable development.