PhD defence L. (Laura) Quadros Aniche

Below is a brief summary of the dissertation:

Experimentation has become central to how cities address complex societal challenges, particularly climate change. Urban Living Labs (ULLs) have emerged as open innovation ecosystems that enable cities to co-create, test, and implement solutions in real-life contexts through multi-stakeholder collaboration. Despite their growing prominence, the extent to which ULLs contribute to broader sustainability transitions remains uneven. Many initiatives remain confined to localized, project-based settings, raising questions about how context-specific experiments can generate wider systemic impact. This challenge is captured in the ‘pilot paradox’, which reflects the tension between contextualized experimentation and the need for generalization, replication, and scaling.
This PhD dissertation addresses this challenge by advancing the empirical and theoretical understanding of how sustainability experiments developed within ULLs evolve beyond their initial context. It investigates the conditions that explain the development of ULLs throughout the Living Lab Integrative Process (LLIP), from early-stage experimentation niches to enduring ecosystems for sustainability transitions. The research focuses on four key dimensions: (i) barriers and drivers shaping experimentation, (ii) interrelated enablers structuring co-creation processes, (iii) mechanisms supporting ULL longevity, and (iv) configurations of mechanisms that are consistently associated with development pathways, namely deepening, spreading, and broadening.
A multi- and mixed-methods approach was employed, combining qualitative multiple-case studies, Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM), and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). This design allows for an in-depth and integrative analysis of how different conditions interact across ULLs and contexts.
The findings show that ULL development is not linear but emerges from a dynamic interplay of conditions across the LLIP phases. Rather than being driven by single factors, development pathways depend on specific combinations of mechanisms, with learning-by-doing playing a central role. Overall, the dissertation suggests that the transformative potential of ULLs lies in their ability to connect, adapt, and embed experimentation across contexts and scales, contributing to broader sustainability transitions.