Revealing Uncertainties: The role of urban living labs for systemic design

Marco Kellhammer

On expanded perspectives from the dance on the volcano

Urban mobility challenges demand innovative solutions beyond traditional design paradigms. This paper explores the role of systemic design, Co-Design, and Urban Living Labs (ULLs) in addressing these challenges, using the “aqt – car-reduced neighbourhoods for a livable city” project in Munich as a case study. The research employs the metaphor “dancing on the volcano” to conceptualise the dynamic and often turbulent nature of ULLs in systemic design. Grounded in principles from Donella Meadows, Birger Sevaldson, and Peter Jones, and enriched by Sigrun Lurås’s “Systems Intertwined”, the study emphasises understanding interdependencies, fostering stakeholder agency, and promoting continuous learning. ULLs, much like a volcano, bring deep-seated issues to the surface and spark critical conversations about underlying conflicts. The iterative and responsive nature of these interventions requires agility, empathy, and continuous adaptation, akin to dancing. The article highlights how ULLs serve as experimental platforms that facilitate real-time testing and refinement of urban innovations. These labs provide a collaborative environment where planners, researchers, citizens, and stakeholders co-create and assess interventions, ensuring they remain responsive to the dynamic urban landscape and foster sustainability transitions. By integrating systemic design principles, co-design, and ULLs, this study aims to develop a robust framework for addressing complex challenges such as mobility within urban neighbourhoods. It underscores the importance of adaptability, agency, and futures thinking in creating sustainable urban environments. The Munich case study illustrates the practical application of these concepts, documenting the iterative and participatory processes involved. In conclusion, the study invites design researchers to reflect on their role in sustainability transformations and to engage in deeper discussions on systemic design. By considering the findings from ULLs, the study contributes to the discourse on sustainable urban development and emphasises the potential of systemic design to deal with the complexity of urban transformation. This dialogue is critical to developing workable and supportive frameworks for practitioners to ultimately improve our collective ability to better understand and co-create the diverse challenges of urban environments.

KEYWORDS: urban living labs, systems oriented design, transition design, systemic design, urban mobility.