Urban Living Labs: A Higher Education Approach to Teaching and Learning about Sustainable Development

Abstract

This study focuses on the use of urban living labs (ULLs) as a teaching and learning strategy toward education for sustainable development (ESD) in higher education institutions (HEIs). The article presents an exhaustive literature review on the ESD approach in HEIs, the conceptualization and understanding of ULLs, and the use of ULLs as learning environments. Several ULL case studies in HEIs that seek to foster ESD through innovation and experimentation in real-world settings are presented. Each case describes the type, approach, characteristics, results, limitations, and challenges in relation to sustainability. It highlights the need for HEIs to adapt to the ESD approach and become role models for sustainability. It is concluded that ULLs are closely related to ESD and the SDGs, provide a practical and applied learning environment for students, encourage the active participation of students in identifying and solving sustainability problems in their local community, and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration between students and academics from different disciplines. All in all, ULLs can be an effective teaching and learning strategy in HEIs toward ESD. In addition, the lack of specific empirical results on the evaluation of ULL as teaching and learning tools toward ESD in HEIs is highlighted, which justifies the need for further research in this field.