Designing real-world laboratories for sustainable urban transformation: addressing ambiguous roles and expectations in transdisciplinary teams

Abstract

This paper reflects upon the potential of real-world laboratories (RWLs) to promote sustainable urban development. RWLs strive for knowledge production through collective action in experimental settings. Their implementation in urban studies faces two major challenges: (1) the ambiguity of roles university researchers need to fill, and (2) the variety of expectations among team members from different institutional backgrounds. Based on research in one trans-European and three German RWLs, we propose a stronger focus on team development to help researchers in RWLs address these challenges more systematically. In particular, this means support in terms of resources and infrastructure (time, space, and training). We argue that the improvement of RWL team performance has great impact on the potentials of RWLs in transformative urban studies. Thus, the article contributes to the ongoing debate on the city as a laboratory and site of experimentation in times of multiple crises.

Beyond Disciplinary Constraints: Designing Transdisciplinary Research and Collaboration in Real-World Laboratories

“…Researchers have, therefore, additional and different roles, and the interventions leave traces that are not measurable in the long term. We agree that the transdisciplinary team has a crucial role in the process [42]; therefore, there was a special focus on the collaboration within the involved team.…”

Reflexivity as a transformative capacity for sustainability science: Introducing a critical systems approach

“…In other words, decentring dominant boundaries can "enable a level of discernment in the use of different ontological and epistemological perspectives, as opposed to defaulting to the loudest perspective" (McIntyre et al 2023). Such spaces also allow for concepts and methods for experimentation and imagination in service of transformation, and diverse approaches have been tested such as, for instance, real-world or T-lab methods (Schäpke et al 2018;Bergmann et al 2021;Huning et al 2021) experimental futures methods, art-based approaches, and ethics of care (Vervoort et al 2015;Galafassi et al 2018;Pereira et al 2018a;Nastar 2023). This process of 'opening up' is entangled with boundary delineation (section 3.1), wherein researchers have situated the boundaries of their own individual frame relative to others and can negotiate their own contributions accordingly (e.g., to step back and decentre their own perspective, or step forward and offer a novel view).…”

Making the UN Ocean Decade work? The potential for, and challenges of, transdisciplinary research and real‐world laboratories for building towards ocean solutions

“…It is also important to critically contextualize experimentation since it may not always be positive or transformative despite wellintended efforts from the onset. Experimentation has ethical dimensions and always holds dimensions of power (Kullman, 2013;Last, 2012;Yusoff, 2018 In recent years, a multitude of so-called real-world experimentation approaches, such as real-world laboratories (RwLs), living labs (LLs), transition labs, transformation labs and innovations labs have emerged (Hossain et al, 2019;Huning et al, 2021).…”

“…In recent years, a multitude of so‐called real‐world experimentation approaches, such as real‐world laboratories (RwLs), living labs (LLs), transition labs, transformation labs and innovations labs have emerged (Hossain et al, 2019; Huning et al, 2021). Standard definitions for the different methods do not exist, which means that terms like RwL and LL seem to be used interchangeably.…”