Abstract
During the last several decades, the diversification of economic activities has become a paramount policy for nations and cities with heavy dependence on a single economic driver. Particularly island economies, relying mainly on tourism income, are among the most vulnerable ones to the shocks of global financial crises. In the recent years, some of these tourist islands had attempts to diversify their economic activities by moving towards a knowledge and innovation economy. This paper places one of these islands—Florianópolis, the capital city of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina—under the microscope to address the question of ‘what it takes to transform a tourist island into an innovation capital’. In order to tackle this question, the study examines economic, social, spatial, and governance conditions and performances, along with the plans and processes of Florianópolis in moving towards an internationally recognized smart innovation island. The methodologic approach includes systematic review of the literature and qualitative analysis of the key development domains of Florianópolis through the lens of knowledge-based urban development. The results of this study provide insights into how to transform a resource-based economy into a knowledge-based one—by disclosing the transition journey of Florianópolis, including progress, challenges, and the new path creation processes. The findings are particularly useful for tourist islands that are aiming for an aspiring knowledge-based urban development and smart city transformation.
Highlights
IntroductionEnergies 2018, 11, 3265 sensitivities are the ones more vulnerable to the impacts of global financial crises [2–4]
Today, in our highly globalized capitalist world, economic resilience has become an exceedingly critical issue for the economies of nations, and for the regional and local economies [1].urban locations with a single-dominant economic sector and specific environmentalEnergies 2018, 11, 3265; doi:10.3390/en11123265 www.mdpi.com/journal/energiesEnergies 2018, 11, 3265 sensitivities are the ones more vulnerable to the impacts of global financial crises [2–4]
The method was considered appropriate for this research, because it allows defining the topic more broadly by considering contextual issues in the case, and relying on multiple sources of evidence [23]
Summary
Energies 2018, 11, 3265 sensitivities are the ones more vulnerable to the impacts of global financial crises [2–4]. Island territories are among those vulnerable locations—where tourism, in general, is the central economic activity, and high environmental sensitivities exist unexceptionally in all of them [5]. In other words, these islands, in general, pose the risk of high environmental vulnerabilities and economic dependencies [6]. The diversification of economic activities from tourism and service sectors to knowledge and innovation economy sectors have been a top government policy priority [7,8]. Knowledge and innovation economy activities produce higher value-addition with lesser environmental impact, and an upskilled workforce makes the economy more resilient to the prospective global financial crises [10,11]
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