Bridging Sustainability Realms: A Thematic Synthesis of Sustainable Living Labs

  • Nasim Molany
  • Rahinah Ibrahim
  • Nik Fazlysham Nik Mat

Abstract

This review paper aims to shed light on the concept of sustainable living labs by reviewing earlier studies on the subject. Within the discipline of architecture, academic research has witnessed a noticeable surge of interest in sustainable living and living labs since the early 2000s. However, the body of literature on these two subjects remains limited in quantity. To comprehend this gap, the present review article examines a collection of 41 articles, published between 2014 and 2023 obtained from journals in Scopus, Google Scholar, and Science Direct focused on architecture, innovation, and sustainability. This research explores diverse topics in sustainable living labs focusing firstly on university campuses as sustainable living labs, second on innovation in sustainable living labs, third on sustainable living labs to achieve sustainable development goals, and finally on urban sustainable living labs. Additionally, this paper provides a comparative overview of the methodological approaches utilized in the reviewed articles. a gap in the literature has been identified in the integration of sustainable living and living labs as a combined concept, to create research that focuses on the impact of sustainable living labs. Finally, research shows that there is a lack of focus on understanding the impact of such sustainable living labs among specific users such as architectural students, which can add value to the existing body of literature in future studies.

References

Afacan, Y. (2023). Impacts of Urban Living Lab (ULL) on Learning to Design Inclusive, Sustainable, and Climate-resilient Urban Environments. Land Use Policy, 124,106443
Alexandrakis, J. (2021). Cycling towards Sustainability: The Transformative Potential of Urban Design Thinking in a Sustainable Living Lab. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 9, 100269
Alexandrakis, J., Hein, J., & Kratzer, J. (2022). Living Labs and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Symbioses Propelling Sustainable Innovation. Sustainability, 14(19), 12729
Baran, G., & Berkowicz, A. (2020). Sustainability living labs as a methodological approach to research on the cultural drivers of sustainable development. Sustainability, 12(12), 4835
Baran, G., & Berkowicz, A. (2021). Digital Platform Ecosystems as Living Labs for Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Innovation: A Conceptual Model Proposal. Sustainability, 13(11), 6494.
Bouma, J., & Veerman, C.P. (2022). Developing Management Practices in "Living Labs" That Result in Healthy Soils for the Future, Contributing to Sustainable Development. Land, 11(12), 2178
Bulkeley, H., Coenen, L., Frantzeskaki, N., Hartmann, C., Kronsell, A., Mai, L., & Palgan, Y. V. (2016). Urban living labs: governing urban sustainability transitions. Current opinion in environmental sustainability, 22, 13-17
Rukspollmuang, C., Mongkhonvanit, P., Phitthayanon, C., Silalai, N., & Nubsang, H. (2022). University as a living learning lab for sustainable futures. Journal of Sustainability Perspectives, 2(1).
Campos, I., & Marín-González, E. (2023). Renewable energy Living Labs through the lenses of responsible innovation: building an inclusive, reflexive, and sustainable energy transition. Journal of Responsible Innovation
Choi, C., Yang, S., Choi, S. H., & Jang, S. (2021). Modeling & Simulation-based Problem-solving Process in Sustainable Living Lab. Sustainability, 13(7), 3690
Compagnucci, L., Spigarelli, F., Coelho, J., & Duarte, C. (2021). Living Labs and user engagement for innovation and sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production, 289, 125721
Cuomo, F. (2022). Urban Living Lab: An Experimental Co-Production Tool to Foster the Circular Economy. Social Sciences, 11(6), 260
Evans, J., Jones, R., Karvonen, A., Millard, L., & Wendler, J. (2015). Living labs and co-production: university campuses as platforms for sustainability science. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 16, 1-6
Gamache, G., Anglade, J., Feche, R., Barataud, F., Mignolet, C., & Coquil, X. (2020). Can living labs offer a pathway to support local agri-food sustainability transitions? Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 37, 93-107
Gatta, V., Marcucci, E., Le Pira, M., & Ciccorelli, A. (2018). Integrating direct and reverse logistics in a “living lab” context: evaluating stakeholder acceptability and the potential of gamification to foster sustainable urban freight transport. City Logistics 3: Towards Sustainable and Liveable Cities, 1-22
Günther, M., Martinetz, S., Krems, J. F., & Bienzeisler, B. (2023). Promoting sustainable mobility in communities with citizen participation: approaches, perspectives and results of a Living Lab in Germany. Journal of Science Communication, 22(3), N01
Haider, C., Kopp, U., & Pajones, M. (2016). Sustainable transport in Upper Austria – Case study for setting up a living lab concept to accelerate innovations. Journal of Technology Management and Innovation, 11(3), 101-107
Hvitsand, C., Raanaas, R. K., Gjøtterud, S., & Nicolaysen, A. M. (2022). Establishing an Agri-food living lab for sustainability transitions: Methodological insight from a case of strengthening the niche of organic vegetables in the Vestfold region in Norway. Agricultural systems, 199, 103403
Jernsand, E. M. (2019). Student living labs as innovation arenas for sustainable tourism. Tourism Recreation Research, 44(3), 337-347
Jurietti, E., Mandelli, A., & Fudurić, M. (2017). How do virtual corporate social responsibility dialogs generate value? A case study of The Unilever Sustainable Living Lab. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 24(5), 357-367
Larner, E., Fish, A. L., Way, C. H., Graham, F., Armstrong, B., Patel, V., ... Reynolds, C. J. (2021). Reaction to a low-carbon footprint food logo and other sustainable diet promotions in a UK University’s Student Union ‘Living Lab’. Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture and Society, 9(1), 1-30
Leal Filho, W., Ozuyar, P.G., Dinis, M.A.P., Azul, A.M., Alvarez, M.G., da Silva Neiva, S., Salvia, A.L., Borsari, B., Danila, A., & Vasconcelos, C.R. (2023). Living labs in the context of the UN sustainable development goals: state of the art. Sustainability Science, 18(3), 1163-1179
Mačiulienė, M., & Skaržauskienė, A. (2020). Sustainable urban innovations: digital co-creation in European living labs. Kybernetes, 49(7), 1969-1986
Martek, I., Hosseini, M. R., Durdyev, S., Arashpour, M., & Edwards, D. J. (2022). Are university "living labs" able to deliver sustainable outcomes? A case-based appraisal of Deakin University, Australia. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 23(6), 1332-1348
Maruyama, H., Short, M., & Nagai, G. (2023). Engaging Students in Co-creating a Sustainable Campus as a Living Lab. Global Concern, 5, 158-175
Mazutti, J., Londero Brandli, L., Lange Salvia, A., Fritzen Gomes, B. M., Damke, L. I., Tibola da Rocha, V., & Santos Rabello, R. D. (2020). Smart and learning campus as living lab to foster education for sustainable development: An experience with air quality monitoring. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 21(7), 1311-1330
Ogonowski, C., Stevens, G., Hess, J., Randall, D., & Wulf, V. (2018). Maintenance Work in Sustainable Living Lab Research. Publisher: IISI - International Institute for Socio-Informatics, 15(1), 1861-4280
Pham, T. V., Nguyen, A. T. T., Ngo, T. D., Le, D. H., Le, K. C., Nguyen, T. H., & Le, H. Q. (2020). Proposed smart university model as a sustainable living lab for university digital transformation. In 5th International Conference on Green Technology and Sustainable Development (GTSD), 472-479
Pilon, A., Madden, J., Tansey, J., & Metras, J. (2020). Campus as a living lab: Creating a culture of research and learning in sustainable development. In Teaching and learning strategies for sustainable development, 213-227
Proposed Smart University Model as a Sustainable Living Lab for University Digital Transformation. In Proceedings of 2020 5th International Conference on Green Technology and Sustainable Development, GTSD 2020 (pp. 472-479)
Purcell, W. M., Henriksen, H., & Spengler, J. D. (2019). Universities as the engine of transformational sustainability toward delivering the sustainable development goals: “Living labs” for sustainability. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 20(8), 1343- 1357
Rukspollmuang, C. (2022). Transforming learning for sufficiency economy philosophy and sustainable development through the triangle of living learning lab. Asia Pacific Education Review, 23(4), 595-610
Save, P., Cavka, B. T., & Froese, T. (2021). Evaluation and lessons learned from a campus as a living lab program to promote sustainable practices. Sustainability, 13(4), 1-28
Schuurman, D., Baccarne, B., De Marez, L., Veeckman, C., & Ballon, P. (2016). Living Labs as open innovation systems for knowledge exchange: Solutions for sustainable innovation development. International Journal of Business Innovation and Research, 10(2-3), 322-340
Trombadore, A., & Calcagno, G. (2022, February). Mediterranean University as Catalyst for Eco- Eco-Sustainable Renovation: The Experience of Med-EcoSuRe Cross-Border Living Lab. In Sustainable Energy Development and Innovation, 269-276
Turi, J. A., Imtiaz, A., & Sorooshain, S. (2021). Learning factories and living labs projects for sustainable educational development. World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, 18(2), 150-152
Ulm, F. (2019). The Permaculture Living Lab (PermaLab)-A new infrastructure of collaborative investigation for a sustainable urban agriculture, Encontros Scientia; Lisboa
Verbeek, H., Zwakhalen, S. M. G., Schols, J. M. G. A., Kempen, G. I. J. M., & Hamers, J. P. H. (2020). A Sustainable Model for Translational Research Improving Quality of Life, Quality of Care and Quality of Work. Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging, 24(1), 43-47
Voytenko, Y., McCormick, K., Evans, J., & Schliwa, G. (2016). Urban living labs for sustainability and low carbon cities in Europe: Towards a research agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production, 123, 45-54
Yang, J.-W., & Yoo, H.-Y. (2021). The value of the sh youth architects' project as the space welfare living lab for sustainable urban regeneration. Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea, 37(3), 75-86
Published
2024-03-31
How to Cite
MOLANY, Nasim; IBRAHIM, Rahinah; NIK MAT, Nik Fazlysham. Bridging Sustainability Realms: A Thematic Synthesis of Sustainable Living Labs. Asian Journal of Research in Education and Social Sciences, [S.l.], v. 6, n. 1, p. 361-373, mar. 2024. Available at: <https://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/ajress/article/view/26215>. Date accessed: 11 oct. 2024.
Section
English Section