Galdamez, E., Kauark-Fontes, B., Vasquez, A. et al. (4 more authors) (2025) Beyond experimentation: how are urban nature-based solutions living labs in Europe and Latin America designed and implemented for transformative change? Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy (TSUS), 21 (1). 2545644. ISSN: 1548-7733
Abstract
Nature-based solutions (NbS) have emerged as a key approach to addressing the increasing socio-environmental challenges of urban areas. Despite their co-benefits, such as climate regulation and biodiversity enhancement, conventional engineering solutions dominate urban environments. To address this imbalance, living lab (LL) projects – with their multi-stakeholder and experimental approaches – have been widely promoted as stepping-stones for the co-creation and uptake of NbS. However, their potential and intentions for broader impact remain insufficiently understood. This study explores how LLs are designed and implemented to support NbS adoption and foster socio-technical transitions in Europe, where both NbS and LL are more developed, and in Latin America, where these specific concepts are less commonly used. Drawing on six urban LLs in Barcelona, Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Turin, and Lisbon, this article investigates the underlying institutional motivations of key actors, the formal objectives of each LL, and the planned and implemented activities as these aspects shape the capacity of LLs to establish NbS. Based on an in-depth document review and semi-structured interviews with key actors, this study aims to advance the understanding of LLs as vehicles for change. The findings reveal differences in the design and implementation of NbS LLs in Europe and Latin America, with a higher desire for transformative change found in the latter. Additionally, they highlight the potential of NbS LLs to contribute to broader sustainability discourses and identify ways to enhance their impact.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2025 The Authors. Except as otherwise noted, this author-accepted version of a journal article published in Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy is made available via the University of Sheffield Research Publications and Copyright Policy under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ © 2025 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. |
Keywords: | Nature-based solutions; living labs; transformative change; impact; Europe; Latin America. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > School of Architecture and Landscape |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number European Commission 867564 EUROPEAN COMMISSION - HORIZON 2020 867564 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 13 Aug 2025 14:57 |
Last Modified: | 26 Aug 2025 07:35 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor and Francis Group |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/15487733.2025.2545644 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:230339 |
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Filename: Wild 2025 Manuscript Beyond experimentation.pdf
Licence: CC-BY 4.0