Urban technologies and smart city applications show that a new era has started in urban planning, and a new structure has been formed because of endless information flow and distribution. The participation process has also carried on a new structure with the changes. Urban living labs (ULL) is a form of experimental governance which can offer creative solutions for the problems that cities face today. The research is aimed to determine the new actors in a new era in the process of transformation while interviewing two ULLs in Turkey. Through interviews, decision-making, actualization, collaboration, and participation, processes were established. Moreover, analysis shows that the technological transformation process is currently in the digital environment rather than redound on the spatial environment in Turkey. While ULLs provide opportunities to adapt to technology, they have not become widespread or have not been identified yet to show limitations in cooperation and application.

The article attempts to place the research within the broader context of urban living labs (ULLs) and highlights the significance of understanding success criteria by gathering data from key stakeholders associated with Basaksehir Living Lab, Bodrum Living Lab and Mezopotamya Living Lab via the in-depth interview method. However, there is a literature gap in terms of a comprehensive understanding of the success criteria specific to ULLs, which hinders the effective utilization of ULLs as platforms for addressing urban challenges. The conclusions drawn from the article emphasize the need for further examination of these labs' openness, user empowerment, and transferability criteria. Nevertheless, the article contributes to understanding the success criteria of ULLs and provides insights for future research and practice.