TY - JOUR T1 - Urban Living Labs for Sustainability in Suburbs in Need of Modernization and Social Uplift JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2016 A1 - Katarina Buhr A1 - Maija Federley A1 - Anja Karlsson KW - city KW - Living lab KW - suburb KW - sustainability KW - urban AB - A number of urban living labs have been set up in recent years, with the aim of developing innovation processes within a multi-stakeholder partnership in an urban context. Several urban living labs focus on sustainable development, which is a visible and urgent issue in less valued suburbs in need of modernization and social uplift. We argue that, when applying the living labs approach in the context of sustainable development in suburbs, the primary focus should be society’s collective goals, as expressed through municipalities and users. The aim of this article is to show examples of how urban living labs can be applied in less valued suburbs in order to contribute to sustainability based on societal goals. We build on analyses from the research project SubUrbanLab, where urban living labs were set up in Alby and Peltosaari, two suburban areas in Sweden and Finland, respectively. We draw lessons regarding how to use urban living labs for sustainable development in order to create favourable conditions for ongoing engagement with the municipality and users towards long-term sustainability. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 6 UR - http://timreview.ca/article/958 IS - 1 U1 - IVL Swedish Environment Research Institute Katarina Buhr is a Social Scientist at IVL Swedish Environment Research Institute. She holds a PhD in Business Administration (Organization and Management) from Uppsala University in Sweden and has been a post-doctoral researcher at Linköping University in Sweden. She has worked in several research projects related to urban sustainable development and has published widely on policy processes and public engagement in the environmental and sustainability field. In SubUrbanLab, she was particularly involved in the evaluation and scientific writing activities for the urban living labs in Alby, Sweden. U2 - VTT Technical Research Centre Maija Federley is a Senior Scientist at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. She holds a Master of Science degree in technology from Helsinki University of Technology (currently Aalto University) in Finland. She has worked in several research projects related to co-development of digital services and environmental sustainability communication in stakeholder networks. In SubUrbanLab, she was particularly involved in designing and observing all urban living labs in Peltosaari, Finland, with a special interest in participatory methods and development of urban living lab practices and evaluation. U3 - IVL Swedish Environment Research Institute Anja Karlsson has worked at IVL Swedish Environment Research Institute since 2011. She holds a BSc in Political Science and Environmental Science from Gothenburg University, Sweden and an MSc from Uppsala University, Sweden. Her studies have focused on stakeholder and public participation in local and national decision making. She has worked in research projects related to sustainable development in urban areas, focusing on social sustainability and the involvement of residents and other stakeholders in urban development. In SubUrbanLab, she was particularly involved in the urban living labs in Alby, Sweden, and the evaluation of the urban living labs. ER -