scholarly journals Living Labs: A Creative and Collaborative Planning Approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 457-491
Author(s):  
Maria Alina Rădulescu ◽  
Wim Leendertse ◽  
Jos Arts

AbstractCommunities around the world are facing an increasing number of ‘wicked problems’, many of which are spatial issues. Therefore, high expectations are placed on the role of planning in addressing them. However, such complex challenges cannot be easily solved with the traditional, sectoral planning approaches, or by planners and decision-makers alone; they require a cross-sectoral and societal-inclusive understanding and collaboration of various kinds of stakeholders. Consequently, in the search for new approaches and tools that favour experimentation, flexibility, and collaboration, planners and decision-makers are turning their attention towards the private sector, where Living Labs have been extensively used in open and user-oriented innovation. Despite the growing number of studies that picture them as a ‘magic recipe’ for experimentation and development of creative solutions for ‘wicked problems’, Living Labs have only recently started gaining attention in the spatial domain. In this chapter, we position Living Labs as a creative and collaborative planning approach. Based on a literature review on Living Labs, and on empirical research carried out in three spatial planning and water infrastructure projects from the Netherlands, we propose a five-phased ‘living lab way of working’ and reflect on the role of Living Labs as a planning method. We end by outlining several recommendations that could be useful when considering the use of Living Labs as a planning method. The conclusion of this chapter shows that despite the challenges they pose, Living Labs represent a relevant and growing practice in spatial planning, especially because they provide a conducive way of connecting local-scale and larger-scale planning issues and solutions.

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masoud Taghvaei ◽  
Hasan Beik ◽  
Nader Zali ◽  
Mitra Kasaei

Despite being in existence for over seven decades, spatial planning policies in Iran have not been implemented and no serious volition to adopt their general approaches was observed. This study identifies the effective factors of the spatial planning implementation approach in the macroregion around south Alborz. By adopting the Delphi technique, a cross-impact matrix and data analysis using MICMAC software, the impact of these factors on the non-implementation of spatial planning in Iran was investigated. The results show that the existence of a central planning system, the dominance of economic and sectoral planning, the lack of integrated land-planning system are among the effective factors in the spatial planning approach in Iran. Therefore, suitable solutions to eliminate the drawbacks are proposed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masoud Taghvaei ◽  
Hasan Beik ◽  
Nader Zali ◽  
Mitra Kasaei

Despite being in existence for over seven decades, spatial planning policies in Iran have not been implemented and no serious volition to adopt their general approaches was observed. This study identifies the effective factors of the spatial planning implementation approach in the macroregion around south Alborz. By adopting the Delphi technique, a cross-impact matrix and data analysis using MICMAC software, the impact of these factors on the non-implementation of spatial planning in Iran was investigated. The results show that the existence of a central planning system, the dominance of economic and sectoral planning, the lack of integrated land-planning system are among the effective factors in the spatial planning approach in Iran. Therefore, suitable solutions to eliminate the drawbacks are proposed.


Urban Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Till Koglin ◽  
Lucas Glasare

This paper evaluates the history and cycling accessibility of Nova, a shopping centre established in Lund, Sweden, in 2002. The current situation was also analysed through observation and a literature review. Moreover, the study conducted a closer analysis of the history and role of the municipality based on further literature study and interviews with officials. The conclusion of the analysis indicates poor and unsafe bikeways caused by conflicts of interest between politicians, officials, landowners and the general public. It also depicts a situation in which the municipality’s master plan has been ignored, and, in contrast to the local goals, cycling accessibility at Nova has seen no significant improvement since the shopping centre was first established. The reasons for this, arguably, are a relatively low budget for bikeway improvements in the municipality, as well as a situation in which decision-makers have stopped approaching the subject, as a result of the long and often boisterous conflicts it has created in the past. Lastly, it must be noted that it is easy to regard the whole process of Nova, from its establishment to the current situation, as being symptomatic of the power structures between drivers and cyclists that still affect decision-makers at all levels.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 754-754
Author(s):  
Brian de Vries ◽  
Gloria Gutman ◽  
Helen Kwan ◽  
Katrina Jang ◽  
Shimae Soheilipour ◽  
...  

Abstract Focus groups were held with family/decision makers of residents in an exclusively Chinese (EC; N=7) and a multi-ethnic (ME; N=8) care home, as well as South Asian (SA; n = 5) and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender caregivers (LGBT; n = 5) who had/have a loved one in a care home. Shared themes across groups included the role of the care home in Advance Care Planning (ACP) discussions, the timing of such discussions (i.e., at admission), and the extent to which another person was available and appropriate for such discussions. Issues unique to groups included superstition and the equation of ACP with funeral planning (EC), family history and regrets about not having planned (ME), gender differences and the need for education about ACP (SA) and the absence of traditional family among LGBT older adults. These themes highlight the challenges in ACP among diverse populations and the need for targeted interventions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 000183922110206
Author(s):  
Christiane Bode ◽  
Michelle Rogan ◽  
Jasjit Singh

Firms increasingly offer employees the opportunity to participate in firm-sponsored social impact initiatives expected to benefit the firm and employees. We argue that participation in such initiatives hinders employees’ advancement in their firms by reducing others’ perceptions of their fit and commitment. Because social impact work is more congruent with female than male gender role stereotypes, promotion rates will be lower for participating men, and male evaluators will be less likely than female evaluators to recommend promotion for male participants. Using panel data on 1,379 employees of a consulting firm, we find significantly lower promotion rates for male participants relative to female participants, female non-participants, and male non-participants. A vignette experiment involving 893 managers shows that lower promotion rates are due to lower perceptions of fit, but not commitment, and greater bias against male participants by male evaluators. Taken together, the results of the two studies suggest that the negative effect of participation on promotion is conditional upon participant and evaluator gender, underscoring the role of gender in evaluation of social impact work. In settings in which decision makers are predominately male, gender beliefs may limit male employees’ latitude to contribute to the firm’s social impact agenda.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
James K. Hammitt

Abstract Benefit–cost analysis (BCA) is often viewed as measuring the efficiency of a policy independent of the distribution of its consequences. The role of distributional effects on policy choice is disputed; either: (a) the policy that maximizes net benefits should be selected and distributional concerns should be addressed through other measures, such as tax and transfer programs or (b) BCA should be supplemented with distributional analysis and decision-makers should weigh efficiency and distribution in policy choice. The separation of efficiency and distribution is misleading. The measure of efficiency depends on the numéraire chosen for the analysis, whether monetary values or some other good (unless individuals have the same rates of substitution between them). The choice of numéraire is not neutral; it can affect the ranking of policies by calculated net benefits. Alternative evaluation methods, such as BCA using a different numéraire, weighted BCA, or a social welfare function (SWF), may better integrate concerns about distribution and efficiency. The most appropriate numéraire, distributional weights, or SWFs cannot be measured or statistically estimated; it is a normative choice.


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