BOLD researcher Sabrina Huizenga and Daria Ivanova have published a new essay in the Special Issue on Living Labs in the Journal of Science Communication 'Imagineering the City: the living lab mystique and its discontents'. They link what they describe as living labs' mystique to urban governance, sharing their concerns that these spaces may lead to a democratic deficit in the city.
Abstract
In this essay, we posit that the urban living lab is an object, engulfed in a particular kind of ontological mystique. We show how diverse urban initiatives utilize the label of `lab' strategically, in order to position their practices within the logic of scientific authority and in/exclude different audiences, thus configuring urban participation. The essay links this lab mystique to urban participation by employing the lens of imagineering [van den Berg, 2015], combining imagining and engineering the city in particular participatory configurations. This allows for critical examinations of who is allowed to imagine, experiment and participate in the city through living lab initiatives.
Read the essay here.
More about living labs
In our White Paper 'This is the truly smart city', Sabrina Huizenga joins Thijs Turèl, programme manager at the Amsterdam Institute for Metropolitan Solutions, to talk more about living labs. Access the White Paper here.