Living labs and co-creation in infrastructure planning: a comparative case study into enabling conditions and mechanisms

Finding new approaches to overcome complex urban problems such as climate change has always been of interest to policymakers and academics. The changing dynamics of urban development result in the diversification of new practices during which experimentation is used to inform urban practice. Amongst these approaches, urban living labs (ULLs) have become a popular form of urban experimental innovation in many countries in the last decade. These ULLs respond to the increased complexity of future challenges calling for local solutions that acknowledge the local conditions—political, technical, and social. Even though a great deal of attention has been given to this form of urban innovation, there has been little consideration of the learning and innovation processes within ULLs. Based on a comparative case study of three innovation projects in a ULL in the city of Amsterdam, we analyse and discuss the claims of ULLs regarding innovation and the different orders of learning they foster. We argue that in the processes of experimentation within ULLs, combining mechanisms of learning and innovation is key to promoting the development of particular local solutions. However, since the learning processes are especially concerned within a particular ULL learning setting, there is a mismatch between the expectations of policymakers, industry, citizens, and knowledge institutes, as well as how the lessons learned can be useful for other contexts.

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Evaluating the efficiency of large scale transit infrastructure planning in Toronto Ontario: issues of governance

10.32920/ryerson.14654001.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Michael Enzo Testaguzza

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Public Transit ◽

Comparative Case Study ◽

Infrastructure Planning ◽

Original Plan ◽

Infrastructure Provision ◽

The Future ◽

History Of ◽

The Many

This report analyzes the governance of large scale public transit infrastructure planning in the GTA. To accomplish this goal a comparative case study was carried out of the two most recent large scale public transit infrastructure provision plans in Toronto, the Network 2011 plan, and following iterations; and the Transit City aspects of the Big Move plan and subsequent iterations. Each case study consists of (1) a review of the history of each plan and (2) a review of the efficiency of the many iterations of the original plan within each case study. Through analysis of this data several characteristics of governance were associated with movement towards better and worse iterations from an efficiency perspective. These characteristics were used to inform recommendations regarding the future of transportation governance in the GTA.

Download Full-text

Evaluating the efficiency of large scale transit infrastructure planning in Toronto Ontario: issues of governance

10.32920/ryerson.14654001 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Michael Enzo Testaguzza

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Public Transit ◽

Comparative Case Study ◽

Infrastructure Planning ◽

Original Plan ◽

Infrastructure Provision ◽

The Future ◽

History Of ◽

The Many

This report analyzes the governance of large scale public transit infrastructure planning in the GTA. To accomplish this goal a comparative case study was carried out of the two most recent large scale public transit infrastructure provision plans in Toronto, the Network 2011 plan, and following iterations; and the Transit City aspects of the Big Move plan and subsequent iterations. Each case study consists of (1) a review of the history of each plan and (2) a review of the efficiency of the many iterations of the original plan within each case study. Through analysis of this data several characteristics of governance were associated with movement towards better and worse iterations from an efficiency perspective. These characteristics were used to inform recommendations regarding the future of transportation governance in the GTA.

Download Full-text