Guimarães 2030: a Governance Ecosystem

Currently, there is a consensus that cities play a pivotal role in global climate protection and sustainability. However, local strategies for sustainable development require a holistic and systemic approach, enabling multiscale involvement dynamics from several stakeholders. Increasing knowledge about implementing a governance model supported by a multidisciplinary framework could contribute to accelerating the green transition of cities. Given the lack of information about the deployment of governance models in the Euro-Mediterranean region, a case study was conducted in a medium-sized city in this region: (1) to analyse the emergence of establishing knowledge-based governance models at the local level; (2) to demonstrate the importance of knowledge circulation between different dimensions/levels, including scientific, technical, political, citizens and communication; (3) to provide a practical example of a governance model that improves environmental integration by building bridges between academia, citizens and political decision-makers. As a result, the authors proposed a step-by-step approach based on the quintuple helix governance model. The empirical findings of the study demonstrated that this approach could be successfully implemented in cities and contribute to improving local policies, reinforcing the role of cities as accelerators of green community-led transformation through establishing multidisciplinary and participative processes.