Urban Living Labs: Pathways of Sustainability Transitions towards Innovative City Systems from a Circular Economy Perspective

Journal Article (2022)
Author(s)

Diego Hernando Florez Ayala (Universidade do Vale do Itajaí)

Anete Alberton (Universidade do Vale do Itajaí)

A. Ersoy (TU Delft - Urban Development Management)

Research Group
Urban Development Management
Copyright
© 2022 Diego Hernando Florez Ayala, Anete Alberton, A. Ersoy
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.3390/su14169831
More Info
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Publication Year
2022
Language
English
Copyright
© 2022 Diego Hernando Florez Ayala, Anete Alberton, A. Ersoy
Research Group
Urban Development Management
Issue number
16
Volume number
14
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Abstract

Urban living labs (ULLs) are progressive forms of interventions that aim to fulfil the sustainability ambitions of cities and communities. They provide opportunities to translate new ideas into practice. The increasing interest among researchers, practitioners, and policy makers in understanding sustainability transitions (ST) has brought new forms of experimentation through which cities and communities can be governed. Recently, there has been increasing attention towards the concept of circular economy (CE). This term promises the creation of distinct city systems in which material flows can be managed efficiently. In this article, we explore how ULLs can become pathways of sustainability transition towards innovative city systems from a circular economy perspective. By adopting a series of systematic analyses, i.e., multiple correspondence analysis and content analysis, we demonstrate the main pathways of circular economy-oriented innovative city systems that have been used in the literature. As a result of this work, we identify the main pathways, namely knowledge production, policy making, co-creation, geographical embeddedness, urban transitions, networks of cooperation among institutions, culture change, and collaborative engagement.