12 Knowledge Management for Sustainability: The Spatial Dimension …
243
a transformation should also take place in wastewater disposal and public transport.
After all, the digital infrastructure, and to some extent water and wastewater disposal
and public transport, are not only needed in five years’ time, but are now required for
today’s sustainably planned public services. In this way, a political solution could be
created in which public institutions or even the municipalities, serve as stakeholders
and act independently or in place of commercial providers. The fact that the federal
states and the federal government act as a driving force would certainly support this
development, enabling rural communities to move into the digitised future at greater
speed.
With regard to the education sector and, detached from the discussion about broadband expansion, Schulz (2018) suggests that the existing physical and digital function and area types in cities and municipalities be recorded and rededicated to new
learning, information, knowledge and transfer spaces. These would be interlinked
places for education, enriched with digitised offers, whereby no clear assignment is
possible or necessary in every case. After all, not only classrooms, public libraries,
cafés, city parks, or in fact any public space, as well as workplaces and living rooms
at home can be used as places of learning. In this way, learning islands are created
which, thanks to their equipment and characteristics, meet learners’ individual needs.
In a digitised world, the physical offer would feature interfaces, enabling these islands
to be integrated and linked to multifaceted
8 educational spaces that grow together.
Reallocations and functional extensions would end the need for a one and only educational infrastructure. The physical location is left behind to enable learning regardless
of time and location, with the ideal scenario being a convergence of physical and
digital space. Mobile learning already addresses such a media design—but what
functions then remain for physical locations?
12.5.2 Three Assumptions
Finally, the question of equal spatial development should be asked again. The authors
suggest that digitalisation offers considerable opportunities, such as compensating
for location disadvantages or developing peripheral regions into attractive places to
work and live. Since digitalisation reduces distances to educational offers, this takes
place in two directions: a Berlin resident can attend an interesting course online with
a provider in Paris, whilst a Parisian can take advantage of an educational provider’s
offer from Berlin.
With regard to land use and spatial development, governance should reflect actorbased functional interrelations in coupled spaces more broadly. Current scientific
discussions have proposed initial options (Newig et al. 2019). To connect spatial
planning with the development of higher education systems, the overall framing
concept must first be revised as described above. In addition, actors’ roles must be
8 The term “multifaceted” is derived from the description of a transformation option for libraries by
Eigenbrodt (2014)
243
a transformation should also take place in wastewater disposal and public transport.
After all, the digital infrastructure, and to some extent water and wastewater disposal
and public transport, are not only needed in five years’ time, but are now required for
today’s sustainably planned public services. In this way, a political solution could be
created in which public institutions or even the municipalities, serve as stakeholders
and act independently or in place of commercial providers. The fact that the federal
states and the federal government act as a driving force would certainly support this
development, enabling rural communities to move into the digitised future at greater
speed.
With regard to the education sector and, detached from the discussion about broadband expansion, Schulz (2018) suggests that the existing physical and digital function and area types in cities and municipalities be recorded and rededicated to new
learning, information, knowledge and transfer spaces. These would be interlinked
places for education, enriched with digitised offers, whereby no clear assignment is
possible or necessary in every case. After all, not only classrooms, public libraries,
cafés, city parks, or in fact any public space, as well as workplaces and living rooms
at home can be used as places of learning. In this way, learning islands are created
which, thanks to their equipment and characteristics, meet learners’ individual needs.
In a digitised world, the physical offer would feature interfaces, enabling these islands
to be integrated and linked to multifaceted
8 educational spaces that grow together.
Reallocations and functional extensions would end the need for a one and only educational infrastructure. The physical location is left behind to enable learning regardless
of time and location, with the ideal scenario being a convergence of physical and
digital space. Mobile learning already addresses such a media design—but what
functions then remain for physical locations?
12.5.2 Three Assumptions
Finally, the question of equal spatial development should be asked again. The authors
suggest that digitalisation offers considerable opportunities, such as compensating
for location disadvantages or developing peripheral regions into attractive places to
work and live. Since digitalisation reduces distances to educational offers, this takes
place in two directions: a Berlin resident can attend an interesting course online with
a provider in Paris, whilst a Parisian can take advantage of an educational provider’s
offer from Berlin.
With regard to land use and spatial development, governance should reflect actorbased functional interrelations in coupled spaces more broadly. Current scientific
discussions have proposed initial options (Newig et al. 2019). To connect spatial
planning with the development of higher education systems, the overall framing
concept must first be revised as described above. In addition, actors’ roles must be
8 The term “multifaceted” is derived from the description of a transformation option for libraries by
Eigenbrodt (2014)