Sustainable Territorial Development (STD) arises from the union of the territorial approach with the principles of sustainability and highlights the need for effective proposals for application, taking into account the specificities of the place, such as political, social, environmental, economic and territorial issues (Flores, Shana Sabbado, 2011).

A critical challenge on STD is the identification of road maps for transformation of territories, urban and rural areas, involving spatial, institutional, political, among other contexts. When dealing with pre-existing territories the challenge is greater, and transition of one scenario to a more healthy scenario ascends in significance.

According to European Environment Agency:

• The environmental challenges ahead of us are global and systemic. Therefore, to achieve long-term sustainability goals, the core systems of our societies will have to change dramatically. That is especially true for the systems related to food, energy, mobility and construction.
• Achieving such transitions will require much more than incremental efficiency improvements. It will instead demand long-term, profound changes in dominant practices, policies and ways of thinking, which will in turn demand new knowledge. It will mean overcoming the short-termism currently dominating political and economic thinking, and instead embracing long-term, integrated, global perspectives.

Such a drive is also true for Latin American countries, mainly for Brazil.

The Araucaria Chair for STD, configures an important ground for international common effort on R&D, coordinated by Brazil (Araucaria Foundation) and France (Institut Mines Telecom). It is a sociotechnics answer for a balanced development concerning K4P. Two main axes will be considered:

1. Occitanic Foresight Laboratory for Territorial Sustainable Development – to subsidize decision making for the development of the regions comprising the Araucaria Chair. It involves “Data Ecologies” towards sober economies, promoting healthier societies, reducing inequalities and improving the interoperability among systems, in the Digital age. The Laboratory will be inspired and integrated with the Industry Observatory (Observatório da Indústria at Industry Federation of Paraná) located in Curitiba, an asset with more than 18 years of experience.


2. New R&D Arrangement on Territorial Sustainable Development, a collaborative network for Learning, Science and Technology developments. It is a network of researchers and partnerships with people, public and private institutions, national and international, for the implementation of the actions, both academic and project, and with municipalities and regional organizations. The Arrangement started with about 30 S&T Institutions, involving Brazil, Argentine, Paraguay and France.