Living Labs have emerged over the past decades as one of the most powerful methods for exploring and testing new solutions in real-world environments. In an era where sustainability, circularity and system innovation are in focus, arenas are needed where ideas are not just planned but lived. Living Labs are just that: places where citizens, businesses, researchers and public actors collaborate in practice to develop the societies of the future.
What is a Living Lab
A Living Lab is a method and a physical or virtual environment where innovation happens in interaction with users. Instead of testing ideas in controlled laboratories, they are taken out into the real world, in neighborhoods, buildings or digital platforms where people actually live, work and interact. The essence is co-creation, experimentation and continuous learning.
Living Labs act as a bridge between research, politics, business and citizens. The method is based on the idea that complex societal problems require collaboration across sectoral boundaries. It is not just about developing new technology but about changing behaviors, creating new business models and redesigning systems.
Examples of Living Labs in Sweden
Sweden has been one of the countries that developed Living Labs as a method early on, often in connection with sustainable urban development and social innovation. A well-known example is Hammarby Sjöstad in Stockholm, which became an international reference for sustainable urban planning in the 21st century. Although the term Living Lab was not used at the beginning, the area developed as a living laboratory to test integrated solutions for energy, waste, water and transport. The residents became active participants in shaping everyday sustainable systems.
Another example is Johanneberg Science Park in Gothenburg, which runs HSB Living Lab, a building on the Chalmers campus where researchers, students and companies live and work in the same building. Here, new building materials, energy systems, digital services and social concepts are tested in real time. Data is collected continuously and used to develop solutions for the housing of the future.
In Malmö, there is Sege Park Living Lab, which focuses on circular city districts. Here, the sharing economy, recycling of building materials and social innovations that strengthen the community are tested. By integrating residents, construction companies, the municipality and research, the area becomes an arena for exploring how to build cities that live in balance with the planet.
Example from the USA
In the USA, Living Labs have often developed at the intersection of technology, community development and citizen innovation. One example is the MIT Media Lab City Science in Cambridge, where researchers work with municipalities to develop the urban systems of the future. Through real test beds in cities such as Hamburg, Andorra and Boston, they explore how digitalization and citizen data can be used to create smart, human and sustainable cities.
Another example is the Detroit Living Lab, which emerged as part of the city’s reconstruction after the economic crisis. Here, city districts are used as test environments for new energy solutions, urban agriculture and social enterprises. The social dimension is central: innovation is not just about technology but about building trust, participation and the local economy.
In California, the San Diego Smart City Living Lab has been established as a platform where companies, universities and the municipality test solutions for climate neutrality and energy efficiency. Here, sensors, data sharing and AI are used to optimise traffic flows, energy consumption and waste management, while involving residents in decision-making processes.
Strengths of the method
Living Labs distinguish themselves through their ability to create learning in real environments. Where traditional research projects often stop at theories and models, Living Labs go into practical life. They provide insights that are difficult to obtain in other ways because they include the user’s real behaviour, conflicts and values.
Another strength is that they build bridges between actors who otherwise rarely collaborate. The public sector, academia and companies meet in the same arena and can experiment together. This makes the method particularly powerful for sustainability challenges, where the solutions cannot come from a single actor.
Living Labs also create legitimacy for change. When citizens participate in testing and evaluating solutions, trust and acceptance are built. This is often crucial to achieving system changes that affect people’s everyday lives, for example new mobility services or circular consumption patterns.
Weaknesses of the method
Despite their strengths, Living Labs also have challenges. They require a lot of coordination and a long-term perspective. Since many actors are involved, decision-making processes can be slow. In addition, roles can be unclear: who owns the results, who finances in the long term, and who is responsible for scaling up the solutions?
Another weakness is that Living Labs can easily get stuck in the pilot phase. It is easy for many test projects to never reach real implementation. To avoid this, it requires a strong connection to policy, business strategy and infrastructure. It is not just about testing but also about integrating lessons learned into broader systems.
Living Labs in the context of sustainability and circularity
In sustainability work, Living Labs have gained particular importance because they allow solutions to be tested that involve multiple systems at the same time. Circularity, for example, is not just about recycling but about new business models, behaviors and design principles. These cannot be fully simulated in a lab – they must be tested in real environments.
Through Living Labs, you can experiment with how products are shared, how materials circulate between construction projects, or how people experience living in a circular city district. These are not just technical experiments, but also social ones. Questions of trust, motivation and culture can be studied while testing new technical systems.
One example is the Circularity Living Lab in Amsterdam, which works with the construction sector. Here, they test how building materials can be dismantled, labeled and reused in new projects. The project has provided valuable insights into both technology, logistics and how actors need to collaborate for circular flows to work in practice.
The connection to urban development and construction
Living Labs are now an integral part of many urban development strategies. They are used to test mobility services, social innovations, energy systems and building techniques. The construction sector, which accounts for large climate emissions, has a lot to gain from the method.
By creating test beds in real construction projects, everything from the reuse of building materials to new ways of involving residents in planning can be tested. In such contexts, Living Labs become both a technical and social innovation platform. It is not uncommon for architects, sociologists, energy engineers and artists to collaborate side by side.
For example, the Urban Futures Lab in Gothenburg tests how city districts can be built to promote the sharing economy, social community and biodiversity. This means that architecture, green infrastructure and digital technology are integrated into a holistic approach.
The social dimension
Living Labs are fundamentally about people. The social dimension is just as important as the technical one. By including citizens and local initiatives, social innovations are created that strengthen the social structure.
An example of this is Botkyrka Living Lab, which focuses on inclusion and co-creation in multicultural areas. Here, the method is used to develop shared services, increase security and create employment. The social effect becomes part of the sustainability benefit.
A step-by-step method for creating a Living Lab
Establishing a Living Lab requires both structure and flexibility.
The first step is to define the purpose. Which system should be investigated, and what change do you want to enable? It could be a residential area, an energy chain or a social system.
The second step is to identify the actors. This requires representatives from the public sector, research, business and civil society. Everyone needs to have something to gain from participating and a desire to learn together.
The third step is about creating the test environment itself. It could be a building, a neighborhood or a digital platform. It is important that the experiments take place in real conditions and that the users actively participate.
The fourth step is to document and evaluate the results. This is where the research part comes in. Data on behaviors, energy, economics and experiences are collected and used for analysis and improvement.
Finally, the results must be disseminated and scaled. A successful Living Lab is not an isolated project but a catalyst for system change. It requires communication, policy changes and new business models.
Living Labs are therefore more than a method. They are arenas where the future is tested in the present. By combining research, practice and co-creation, they become powerful tools for driving sustainability, circularity and system innovation. They show that real change does not occur in theory but in the encounter between people, technology and everyday life.
At a time when societal challenges are increasingly complex, the need for living laboratories is greater than ever. They help us understand, test and adapt our solutions before we scale them. It is not just a method for innovation, but a way to build the societies of the future, together and in reality.
