The Intellectual Capital in Urban Strategic Planning

The most distinctive feature of local authorities, namely the creation of public value in a financially sustainable way, is becoming increasingly complex and dynamic. This is due to many reasons, but mostly because creating local public value is significantly affected by the roles played by many other actors, including citizens, businesses, other public authorities and non-profit organizations. In this regard, both local authorities and the other social players find critical success factors in their knowledge resources, which generate at the same time competence and confidence. Therefore, for local authorities the development of their intellectual capital as well as that of their community of reference (i.e., their constituency) are qualifying performances and must be included in their system of governance. In this context, urban strategic planning takes on increasing importance. This paper investigates whether and how intellectual capital is developed within the set of local governance tools and in particular within the urban strategic plans drawn up by the regional capitals, with the aim of bringing out the degree of interest and commitment on the subject of the main Italian local authorities. This analysis also offers an opportunity to identify some critical points and provide some useful guidance on the contributions of urban strategic planning and knowledge management to the creation of local public value.