Smart City District as a Living Lab Platform in Sustainability Transition
This study examines the impact of living labs in the creation process of a sustainable city district and puts emphasis on the urban governance and the activities of public and private actors.
It was researched through Hiedanranta living lab case study. In the study, nutrient recycling activities of various actors and their perspectives are examined. The study relies on qualitative research design containing interviews with key stakeholders including managers of the firms in the living lab, city development project managers from the municipality, project manager from an association, researchers who focus on nutrient recycling, and secondary data.
Findings of the study point out that in order to achieve sustainability in living labs in the cities, all the actors including researchers, equipment providers, city planners from the municipality, regulators, companies and users need each other to test solutions and contribute with their expertise, knowledge, equipment and facilities.
These results help circular economy by revealing the open innovation nature of the living labs through a case study. The transition to circular economy requires open collaboration of various types of actors, and this study acknowledges the significance of actor diversity and collaboration in value creation in living labs.
Published: The 41st R&D Management Conference, École Polytechnique (June 2019)
Authors:
Anil Engez CITER (Center for Innovation and Technology Research), Unit of Industrial Engineering and Management, Tampere University E-mail: anil.engez@tuni.fi
Leena Aarikka-Stenroos CITER (Center for Innovation and Technology Research), Unit of Industrial Engineering and Management, Tampere University E-mail: leena.aarikka-stenroos@tuni.fi
Marika Kokko Unit of Materials Science and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Tampere University E-mail: marika.kokko@tuni.fi
Ari Jokinen School of Management and Business, Tampere University E-mail: ari.k.jokinen@tuni.fi
Pekka Jokinen School of Management and Business, Tampere University E-mail: pekka.jokinen@tuni.fi