Localizing the SDGs: Encuentros Urbanos + Red Academica Ciudad Meets All4tech

“ENCUENTRO URBANO +” is the closure of 11 previous “Encuentros Urbanos” (urban meetings) hosted by 11 public and private academic institutions of Quito. After several meetings with representatives of these institutions, the 8th of March of 2016 the “Letter of compromise and alliances for the city’s research” was signed. Historically, Quito’s universities have worked in their research projects in their own way. It has produced duplicity of information and vain efforts due to the lack of awareness of the state of the art of consolidated projects. This “endogamy” also extends to the interaction with other faculties or institutions involved in the city’s research. The need to socialize investigations with contributions to the science of the city was recognised, and also the need to join efforts in one local agenda towards Habitat III. This lead will be the causative to generate academic spaces that transcend the institutions through a posture of a knowledge management of the city’s science. Thereby, it’s important to set up a local network of researchers which until now hasn’t existed. So, a Standing Commitee of delegates for the “RED ACADÉMICA PARA ESTUDIOS DE CIUDAD” was established, with the objective to be a long term network. As an additional contribution to strengthen the local network, we will receive contributions from some members of “Alliance4Tech”, a strategic network funded by Centrale Supélec de Paris, Politecnico di Milano, Technische Universität Berlin and University College London aiming at the creation of a European Campus without borders for their students and faculties. Thanks to the synergy between Red Academica Ciudad and Alliance4Tech, “Encuentro Urbano +” will give the opportunity to open new research horizons by exploring which links join European and Latin American cities and discussing the latest achievements in Urban Studies reached by each university.