Sustainability Living Labs as a Methodological Approach to Research on the Cultural Drivers of Sustainable Development

Abstract

Given that culture-driven processes cannot be researched and designed if taken out from the real-life environment, an appropriate methodology to study the impact of culture on sustainable development is needed. The aim of the research was to develop a model of a sustainability living lab as a methodological approach based on the living lab concept and its capabilities to study the cultural drivers of sustainable development. The research was carried out with use of the conceptual research framework based on analyzing existing knowledge on cognitive processes within living laboratories and their interpretation in the light of the relationship between culture and sustainable development. First, the results of the analysis of sustainability cultural drivers and the living lab concept are presented, which constitute the research framework of the study. Then, the main contribution as a novel theoretical concept of sustainability living lab is elaborated and discussed. The novelty of this approach to research on the cultural drivers of sustainable development is based on linking together in a coherent model the consequences of the dual nature of culture and the arguments for conducting such research beyond the limitations of closed laboratories towards the highly dynamic environment of real life.

Urban Industrial Tourism: Cultural Sustainability as a Tool for Confronting Overtourism—Cases of Madrid, Brussels, and Copenhagen

“…The concept of sustainability has undergone a significant evolution from its origins in the 1980s to the present day. The contemporary notion of sustainable development is based on three dimensions-the environmental, the ecological, and the social [36]-to which a fourth, the cultural dimension, has sometimes been added in response to the reflections of some authors [36,37]. Cultural sustainability is difficult to define, since the terms "culture" and "sustainability" are themselves extremely complex, as are their interrelations [36,37].…”

“…The contemporary notion of sustainable development is based on three dimensions-the environmental, the ecological, and the social [36]-to which a fourth, the cultural dimension, has sometimes been added in response to the reflections of some authors [36,37]. Cultural sustainability is difficult to define, since the terms "culture" and "sustainability" are themselves extremely complex, as are their interrelations [36,37]. Soini and Dessein [37] analyze the meaning of cultural sustainability and indicate three different representations: "Culture in Sustainability" (that is, culture as an achievement in development), "Culture for Sustainability" (culture as a resource and condition for development), and "Culture as Sustainability" (development as a cultural process).…”

Co-Creating Service Concepts for the Built Environment Based on the End-User’s Daily Activities Analysis: KTH Live-in-Lab Explorative Case Study

“…There are many different approaches to explaining living labs as environments and living labs as approaches. Living labs environments have a main focus on the environment itself and are equipped with high-end technology and infrastructure that can support both the processes of user involvement and technology development and tests [84]. Such infrastructures are named testbeds.…”

Facing Societal Challenges in Living Labs: Towards a Conceptual Framework to Facilitate Transdisciplinary Collaborations

“…As such, multi-stakeholder collaboration in living lab projects is considered a requirement for innovation [6] and is often brought forward using innovation frameworks, such as triple-, quadruple-, or quintuple-helix models (e.g., [2]). Today, we see a myriad of successful examples implementing the living lab approach to directly or indirectly tackle specific societal challenges through collaboration, for example to stimulate the transition towards a carbon neutral future [14], to deal with cultural diversity and social cohesion issues [15], or to fast forward the innovation in healthcare [16]. Most of the corresponding literature describes the added value of collaboration for innovation, in particular, how collaboration between industry, academic, and governmental sectors promotes knowledge-based economic growth and social development [17][18][19][20][21].…”