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Towards a Learning System for University Campuses as Living Labs for Sustainability

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Universities as Living Labs for Sustainable Development

Part of the book series: World Sustainability Series ((WSUSE))

Abstract

Universities, due to their sizeable estates and populations of staff and students, as well as their connections with, and impact within, their local and wider communities, have significant environmental, social and economic impacts. There is a strong movement for universities to become leaders in driving society towards a more sustainable future, through improving the sustainability of the built environment and the universities’ practices and operations, and through their educational, research and wider community engagement missions. Around the globe the concept of ‘Living Labs’ has emerged as an instrument to integrate these different aspects to deliver sustainability improvements, through engaging multiple stakeholders in all of these areas, and through the co-creation of projects to improve the sustainability of the campus environment and operations, and to link these to the education, research, and wider community missions of the institution. This chapter describes a living, shared framework and methodology, the ‘Campus as Living Lab’ learning system, created through global participatory workshops and Living Lab literature, aimed at supporting universities and their Sustainability (Coordinating) Offices in the development and monitoring of Living Lab projects. The framework includes seven categories of supportive data collection and three levels of details to meet different requirements of potential users. The Living Lab framework presented in this chapter, aims to create value and help universities maximise the benefit of Living Lab projects within an institution, support monitoring, reflection and learning from projects, and facilitate communication with stakeholders, and the sharing of practices and learning between peers across the globe. As a living shared, framework and learning system, the framework will adapt and develop over time and within different contexts. To provide feedback and fast (practical) learning from users, the system will be further developed to facilitate transparent peer reviewing.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands

    L. A. Verhoef, Y. Agarwala & C. Hellinga

  2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    J. Newman & Paul J. Wolff III

  3. Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin, Republic of Ireland

    F. Ferraz

  4. ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    P. Jiranek

  5. Keele University, Staffordshire, UK

    Z. P. Robinson

  6. Hochschule Für Technik Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

    M. Bossert

Authors
  1. L. A. Verhoef
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  2. M. Bossert
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  3. J. Newman
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  4. F. Ferraz
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  5. Z. P. Robinson
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  6. Y. Agarwala
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  7. Paul J. Wolff III
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  8. P. Jiranek
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  9. C. Hellinga
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to L. A. Verhoef .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. European School of Sustainability Science and Research, HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. European School of Sustainability Science and Research, HAW Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Amanda Lange Salvia

  3. Department of Geography, University of South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Rudi W. Pretorius

  4. University of Passo Fundo, Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Luciana Londero Brandli

  5. Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece

    Evangelos Manolas

  6. Department of Social Sciences and Management, Universidade Aberta, Porto, Portugal

    Fatima Alves

  7. Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal

    Ulisses Azeiteiro

  8. School of Architecture and Design, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Judy Rogers

  9. Department of Life and Environmental Science, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK

    Chris Shiel

  10. Department of Business and Economics, Research Unit NECE, Universidade da Beira Interior, Covilha, Portugal

    Arminda Do Paco

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Verhoef, L.A. et al. (2020). Towards a Learning System for University Campuses as Living Labs for Sustainability. In: Leal Filho, W., et al. Universities as Living Labs for Sustainable Development. World Sustainability Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15604-6_9

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