Challenging practices: experiences from community and individual living lab approaches

Abstract

In this article, we examine a change initiative designed to involve households in testing ways to transform two everyday practicesheating and doing laundry. The research design included an examination of the challenges of changing practices either in a setting that fosters collective engagement or with individual households. Two different types of living labs were carried out simultaneously in eight European countries in Autumn-Winter 2018. We reflect on differences in results in terms of both changes in practices and the experiences of participating households that we argue can be at least partially attributed to householders' engagement in different types of living labs. We discuss the implications of an individualfocused vs. community-oriented approach for change initiatives seeking to challenge social norms for sustainability transitions, concentrating in particular on differences in the nature of participants' engagement and their willingness and ability to challenge routine practices. This is complemented by analytical reflections on the differences in design, interaction, and performance between the two types of living labs. We show that an explicit focus on collaborative engagement in living labs can produce results that reflect shared experiences, community support, challenging established norms, and collective commitment toward change.

New reflections and strategies for social sustainability through the climate change crisis within inclusive participation and school

“…It is very difficult to deepen the bond with the ecology associated with climate change within the inclusive school. By differentiating the traditional disciplinary focus on research and problem-solving that remains in school education and of course, in higher education to generate a pedagogically interdisciplinary and holistic approach; It is possible to exchange the accesses of social sustainability to discuss the problembased challenges to pedagogical strategies within the inclusive school and the educational community that engage from the new perspectives of students and teachers, engaging creative and participatory opportunities within the climate change crisis [11][12][13].…”

Smarter World Living Lab as an Integrated Approach: Learning How to Improve Quality of Life

“…Living labs are understood as spatially and temporally bounded experiments in a real-life setting that facilitate different forms of learning. Participants, such as individuals and households, are seen as cocreators of knowledge on equal grounds with resea rchers [37].…”

Co-creating and evaluating social marketing programs: a living lab approach

“…Living Labs have been used in a range of social contexts, for example, to create a virtual assistant for therapeutic adherence of elders (Luengo-Polo et al , 2021), involve households in more sustainable heating and laundry practices (Matschoss et al , 2021) and promote digital participation in remote communities (Hughes et al , 2018). The Living Lab methodology has been applied with children and young people where an interactive totem was placed in the paediatric ward of a hospital to educate, entertain and empower hospitalised children (Vicini et al , 2012).…”