Urban Laboratories Research Articles

New solutions to old problems: A practical approach to identify samples with intravenous fluid contamination in clinical laboratories

ObjectivesContamination with intravenous (IV) fluids is a common cause of specimen rejection or erroneous results in hospitalized patients. Identification of contaminated samples can be difficult. Common measures such as failed delta checks may not be adequately sensitive nor specific. This study aimed to determine detection criteria using commonly ordered tests to identify IV fluid contamination and validate the use of these criteria. MethodsConfirmed contaminated and non-contaminated samples were used to identify patterns in laboratory results to develop criteria to detect IV fluid contamination. The proposed criteria were implemented at a tertiary care hospital laboratory to assess performance prospectively for 6 months, and applied to retrospective chemistry results from 3 hospitals and 1 community lab to determine feasibility and flagging rates. The algorithm was also tested at an external institution for transferability. ResultsThe proposed algorithm had a positive predictive value of 92 %, negative predictive value of 91 % and overall agreement of 92 % when two or more criteria are met (n = 214). The flagging rates were 0.03 % to 0.07 % for hospital and 0.003 % for community laboratories. ConclusionsThe proposed algorithm identified true contamination with low false flagging rates in tertiary care urban hospital laboratories. Retrospective and prospective analysis suggest the algorithm is suitable for implementation in clinical laboratories to identify samples with possible IV fluid contamination for further investigation.

Collective Creativity and Complexity in Urban Laboratories: El Campo de Cebada

Cities are complex systems requiring urban design models that balance order and disorder. Collective creativity initiatives engage citizens in these processes, empowering bottom-up approaches that prioritize people and social well-being within urban development. This paper investigates an ‘Urban Laboratory’ as a case study, examining the potential of collective creativity to address urban complexity. The successful and ongoing project ‘El Campo de Cebada’ in Madrid, Spain, demonstrates how a community transformed a vacant lot into a vibrant social hub. The phases of this study include case selection, data collection, data analysis, and presentation of the results. This study identifies key enabling factors, including agents, management, social dynamics, infrastructure, and actions. These insights offer a methodological framework for designing future collaborative, resilient, and inclusive urban spaces, addressing the complex needs of communities within our cities.

Experimental Urban Planning: Tensions Behind the Proliferation of Urban Laboratories in Latin America

Urban laboratories are gaining popularity in Latin America as spaces of experimentation within urban planning. Based on semi-structured interviews across Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil, we identify two tensions behind the current proliferation of urban laboratories in Latin America. Firstly, the temporary and informal nature of urban laboratories, while promoting innovative thinking and experimentation, limits their long-term impact. Secondly, their reliance on international best practices and highly educated “trendy urbanists” often hinder their ability to foster more democratic and inclusive outcomes. We conclude by reflecting how these tensions highlight larger challenges in realizing the transformative potential of experimental approaches to planning.

MEASURING SPATIAL ACCESSIBILITY TO HEALTHCARE FACILITIES IN ISFAHAN METROPOLITAN AREA IN IRAN

Abstract. Appropriate spatial accessibility to healthcare facilities is an important component of the efficient delivery of healthcare. This study aims to measure spatial accessibility to healthcare facilities in Isfahan Metropolitan Area, a rapidly growing megacity in Iran. We used two methods of population-weighted fuzzy analytic hierarchy process and the two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) to measure spatial accessibility to urban healthcare facilities, including hospitals, pharmacies, clinics, and laboratories. The results of these two methods were compared. Not surprisingly, the center of Isfahan has the highest accessibility scores for healthcare facilities, and the peripheral areas of the city have the lowest levels. Despite the existence of higher numbers of healthcare facilities in northern parts of Isfahan, accessibility to healthcare facilities is low because of the large population. Both methods show that healthcare services are not evenly distributed in Isfahan. Some areas with a high population have low accessibility to health facilities. Ideally, these areas would be prioritized for future health infrastructure investment. The methods used here can help urban healthcare policymakers identify spatial inequalities in access to care and thus target the areas in need.

Eco-cities as urban laboratories of Chinese ecological modernization: eco-experimentation and the modernization of urban governance

ABSTRACT Eco-cities have emerged as important sites for urban experiments on ecological modernization (EM). China has fully embraced this approach by building hundreds of high-profile eco-cities. This study investigated how the modernization of urban governance affects eco-cities and eco-experimentation, focusing on the relationship between the government and businesses. Our in-depth case study revealed the following: (1) the modernization of hierarchical governance to enhance financial prudence conflicts with the resource-demanding nature of eco-city projects; (2) building international collaborations through modernized network governance is crucial for Chinese EM; however, sustaining these collaborations remains a challenge; and (3) the modernization of urban governance, both vertically and horizontally, remains firmly situated within an authoritarian political framework. The pressure to pursue socioeconomic priorities as dictated by the central government forces local agencies to adopt conflicting strategies that undermine the quality and authenticity of the pursuit of EM via urban eco-experimentation.

Learning and Teaching Urban Design through Design Studio Pedagogy: A Blended Studio on Transit Urbanism

Studio-based pedagogy has been central to urban design programmes as it can enable future urban designers to more effectively acquire an understanding of how cities work and critically engage with the role of design intervention. This paper aims to explore the capacities and challenges of learning and teaching urban design through studio pedagogy by drawing on empirical research from a blended urban design studio experiment during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. This is part of a broader exploratory project using a case study research design and mixed methods approach. This paper explains the process of designing and delivering two constructively aligned postgraduate urban design studios as part of the MA Urban Design programme at Cardiff University in the 2021–2022 academic year. It further discusses the findings of an online survey on the perceptions and experiences of students regarding blended design studio pedagogy. Designing two consecutive and constructively aligned design studios is argued to work better in comparison with designing two entirely separate stand-alone design studios engaging with different topics and sites. The paper highlights the importance of learning from cities as real urban design laboratories rather than merely analysing abstract secondary datasets. The value of policy review, small group reading discussions, and formative feedback opportunities is also highlighted as integral parts of the urban design studio pedagogy. The paper concludes by discussing a range of key issues concerning field site visit, policy review, community engagement, precedent review, student diversity, design studio topic, reading discussion, group size, formative feedback, engagement, educational background, and English language skills. The outcomes of this paper can inform future practices of developing pedagogical frameworks for blended urban design studios.

Smart grids, smart households, smart neighborhoods – contested narratives of prosumage and decentralization in Berlin’s urban Energiewende

Imagined futures implicitly shape how a city’s infrastructure develops in the present. Because smart grids are still in the making, it is important to understand which urban futures are being associated with them. This paper asks how urban smart grid futures are being imagined through narratives and material practices in the city of Berlin and which notions of urban community these imagined futures stand for. Drawing on the concepts of socio-technical imaginaries and discourse, the paper unravels how relevant actors envision Berlin’s smart grid future, focusing especially on the role of urban “prosumage” and micro-grid-neighborhoods in the everyday production, consumption, and management of electricity in the city. The paper concludes that while one dominant imaginary prevails, this dominant imaginary is built on competing and in part contradictory narratives about the role of households, neighborhoods and the city in urban energy transitions. The analysis is based on a case study of three so-called urban laboratories for the development and implementation of smart grids in Berlin. It draws on policy documents and interviews with relevant stakeholders from Berlin’s energy, ICT, and urban development sectors, including representatives of incumbent utility companies, small energy entrepreneurs, public authorities, the research community, and civil society organizations.

Архитектурная смена: на пути к соучаствующему проектированию с подростками городской среды

The article presents the results of participatory design activities within the architectural programme “Territory of Development”, hosted by the All-Russian Children’s Centre “Smena”. 130 teenagers from different Russian cities participated in the 14-day programme to develop their territory analysis and spatial thinking skills, their understanding of the structure of their city and sense of involvement in its development. In two online focus groups, adolescents asked their peers who participated in the architectural programme and their counsellors about the results of the programme, adolescents’ attitude towards the city and any changes thereof after the programme, the project itself, adolescents’ places in the city and their opportunities to participate in the life of the city, including through design work. In parallel, a questionnaire was launched through a Google form. The architectural programme demonstrated the potential for introducing adolescents to the life of the city through the design of public spaces and small architectural forms. As a result of the programme, adolescents did not only make career choices, acquired skills in territorial analysis and spatial thinking, but also conceptualised their own participation in the life of the city. Other ways to include adolescents into the life of the city are city workshops, festivals and architectural expeditions. Urban development laboratories can also promote the ideas of participatory design, including that with children and adolescents as participants. It is crucial to include adolescents into the life of the city because it helps shape them as active individuals, instil a sense of ownership of their city’s development, incentivise the youth to stay in their city and introduce new ideas for urban development.

Thinking Urban Transformation through Elsewhere: A Conversation between Real-World Labs in São Paulo and Hamburg on Governance and Practical Action

Urban real-world laboratories (RWLs) are increasingly used internationally and studied as an instrument of urban transformation. New cases in diverse political, economic, social and ecological situations offer a rich set of learning experiences, but the distinctive urban contexts make it impossible to draw comparisons in the traditional sense. In this article—an experiment in itself—we aim to gain a deeper understanding of how RWLs contribute to urban transformation in very different contexts. We apply Jennifer Robinson’s theoretical framework “thinking through elsewhere” on two ongoing urban RWLs: the Itaim Paulista Lab, located in the urban periphery of São Paulo, Brazil and the Lokstedt Urban Transformation Lab in Hamburg, Germany. We operationalize Robinson’s framework in two steps. First, we present the genetics—context, roots, concepts and activities—of both labs. Second, we engage the RWLs in a generative conversation on their role in transforming governance and practical action, with a special focus on the questions of if and how the labs contribute to long-term transformative change. We also find that both labs show potential to contribute to long-term transformative change through governance and practical action.

Die Verstetigung von urbanen Reallaboren im Spannungsfeld theoretischer Konzeption und praktischer Umsetzung – eine empirische Untersuchung

The continuation and stabilization of urban real-world laboratories has the potential to contribute substantially to a successful socio-ecological transformation. Implementing actors face challenges which include time constraints related to project funding and the complexity of transdisciplinary research logic and practice. Selected externally funded research projects are assessed in terms of continuity, transferability, contribution to transformation, reflexivity and learning processes and transdisciplinarity to determine how project frameworks affect the continuity of real-world laboratory elements. The findings indicate a tendency towards a successful continuation of multi-stakeholder collaborations. A structural ontinuation of real-world laboratory activities by practitioners is also proven to be possible in various constellations. The termination of donor funded infrastructure and resources remains a major obstacle due to short project durations. The criteria of transdisciplinary research are accompanied by additional demands on the scientists, which in turn promote the increase in knowledge of method development and application, but must also be considered in the context of a lower output of peer-reviewed articles.

At DOE, efforts to address climate and diversity dovetail

Proposed urban integrated field laboratories would reach out to minority communities.

Imagining the smart city through smart grids? Urban energy futures between technological experimentation and the imagined low-carbon city

Current imaginaries of urban smart grid technologies are painting attractive pictures of the kinds of energy futures that are desirable and attainable in cities. Making claims about the future city, the socio-technical imaginaries related to smart grid developments unfold the power to guide urban energy policymaking and implementation practices. This paper analyses how urban smart grid futures are being imagined and co-produced in the city of Berlin, Germany. It explores these imaginaries to show how the politics of Berlin’s urban energy transition are being driven by techno-optimistic visions of the city’s digital modernisation and its ambitions to become a ‘smart city’. The analysis is based on a discourse analysis of relevant urban policy and other documents, as well as interviews with key stakeholders from Berlin’s energy, ICT and urban development sectors, including key experts from three urban laboratories for smart grid development and implementation in the city. It identifies three dominant imaginaries that depict urban smart grid technologies as (a) environmental solution, (b) economic imperative and (c) exciting experimental challenge. The paper concludes that dominant imaginaries of smart grid technologies in the city are grounded in a techno-optimistic approach to urban development that are foreclosing more subtle alternatives or perhaps more radical change towards low-carbon energy systems.

Availability and Prices of WHO Essential Diagnostics in Laboratories in West Africa: A Landscape Survey of Diagnostic Testing in Northern Ghana.

We determined the availability and pricing of laboratory testing in the Northern Region of Ghana to identify current gaps with respect to the WHO's Essential Diagnostics List (EDL). A representative sample of facilities offering diagnostic testing within the Northern Region was geographically mapped and evaluated, with random sampling stratified by population density. Data were collected on testing menus, volumes, turn-around times, and out-of-pocket test prices. A total of 27 health centers and 39 clinical laboratories were surveyed between June and August 2019. Health centers offered a median of 2 of 20 tests recommended by the WHO for facilities without laboratories. The most common tests offered included point-of-care tests for malaria, HIV, and pregnancy. Clinical laboratories offered a median of 11 of 72 tests on the EDL. These facilities most commonly provided testing for malaria, HIV, pregnancy, HBsAg, urinalysis, HCV Ab, syphilis, glucose, and CBC. Urban laboratories had a total of 36 EDL tests available while rural laboratories had 12. Test prices were higher in private compared to public laboratories. National Health Insurance reimbursements were lower than out-of-pocket prices (38%), and when controlling for test price, test availability was negatively associated with this gap in reimbursement. Availability of diagnostic testing in Ghana's Northern Region is severely limited compared to the WHO's EDL. The disparity is pronounced in rural facilities. Reimbursement rates should be reset to more closely match out-of-pocket test prices in order to achieve the Universal Health Coverage target of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Testing Platforms as Drivers for Positive-Energy Living Laboratories

The development of city-driven urban laboratories was considered a priority by the European Commission through Action 3.2 of the Strategic Energy Technology Plan. In this context, positive-energy districts laboratories could take the role of urban drivers toward innovation and sustainability in cities. These urban labs can provide real-life facilities with innovative co-creation processes and, at the same time, provide testing, experimenting, and prototyping of innovative technologies. In this scope, the authors of this work want to share the very first results of an empirical study using the testing facilities provided by the members of the Joint Program on Smart Cities of the European Energy Research Alliance as positive-energy districts laboratories. Six climatic regions are studied as boundary conditions, covering temperate and continental climates. Four scales of action are analyzed: Building, campus, urban, and virtual, with building and campus scales being the most frequent. Most of these laboratories focus on energy applications followed by networks, storage systems, and energy loads characterization. Many of these laboratories are regulated by ICT technologies but few of them consider social aspects, lighting, waste, and water systems. A SWOT analysis is performed to highlight the critical points of the testing facilities in order to replicate optimized configurations under other conditions. This statistical study provides guidelines on integration, localization, functionality, and technology modularity aspects. The use of these guidelines will ensure optimal replications, as well as identify possibilities and opportunities to share testing facilities of/between the positive-energy district laboratories.

Between ecological convictions and practical considerations – profiles and motivations of residents in car-free housing developments in Germany and Switzerland

Abstract. Automobility still dominates transport and space in most European cities. However, more and more initiatives are being taken to encourage a transition towards low-carbon mobility. One of these is car-free housing, where residents commit to living without a private car. This paper addresses their profiles and motivations based on a questionnaire survey (N=571) and interviews (N=50) in nine housing developments in Germany and Switzerland. Residents are characterised by an overrepresentation of families and people with a high level of education, two population groups that are usually more motorised than average. Their motivations and long-term commitment to living car-free can be explained by not only practical reasons (e.g. availability of alternative modes) but also ecological awareness and social values (as shown by the importance of cooperative housing). This paper sheds light on these urban laboratories where the principles of a post-car system are implemented.

Learning from Taiyuan: Chinese cities as urban sustainability laboratories

This essay considers China's emerging role as a “laboratory” for innovation in achieving urban sustainability. Its purpose is to highlight, in the context of the Sino-American Symposium on Future Issues Affecting Quality of Life, aspects of Chinese urbanization which contribute to China's increasing global significance as a site for natural experiments in urban sustainability. Such experiments are relevant not only to the future quality of life in China, but also to the growing number of countries participating in development partnerships with China. The essay begins with an overview of urban sustainability and China's particular urban challenges. We then focus on three aspects of Chinese urbanization which stand out as distinct in fostering urban innovation and in serving as appropriate laboratories for the development of innovative practices in urban sustainability for the global south— the pace, scale and governance of urbanization. We use examples from the city of Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, to ground the discussion in a specific place, while acknowledging that, although Taiyuan serves well to illustrate many key points, it is only one case and cannot serve as a basis of generalization about China as a whole.

DIY Urbanism as a Tool of Urban Regeneration. Two Cases in Comparison

A process of urban regeneration should be able to produce social and spatial contextual effects. In order to achieve long-term results, it has to guarantee social inclusion. New rising ways of transformation of public space, consisting in the urban co-design, are defining new tools able to trigger processes of regeneration so called “community-led”. One of the approaches used by different groups of architects to trigger regeneration processes of so-called “in need areas” is the activation of the community through urban laboratories of social innovation for the realization of temporary transformations of space. This article explores the analysis of DIY (Do It Yourself) Urbanism tools of co-planning and co-construction as motors of innovation, activation and social inclusion, investigating their role in urban regeneration. Questions are being asked about the new skills of the architect involved in these procedures and about possible tools useful to the institutions to act in these operative fields. The purpose is to analyze some practices, hypothesizing their replicability and applicability to different scales, in order to generate virtuous mechanisms. Two experiences of co-design and co-construction, located in two different geographic, social and political contexts, will be shown: the construction of the Casa de la lluvia (de ideas), in Bogota(Colombia), and the regeneration of Piazza Gasparotto, in Padua (Italy). Despite the peculiarities of context, we want to illustrate the strategies implemented in the cases exposed, in order to identify shared features and differences due to the degrees of freedom that the participation tools must have, to be flexible and repeatable.

Evaluation of Blastocystis sp. Frequency in Referred Samples to Urban Laboratories: Is it a Potential Risk for Deployed Troops?

Objectives: Given the relatively high prevalence and emphasis on the pathogenicity of Blastocystis sp., especially in immunocompromised patients and other at risked populations like military personnel, this study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of Blastocystis sp. in the city of Karaj during 2014 - 2015. Methods: In this descriptive study, 2500 stool samples were screened for Blastocystis sp. using microscopically examinations and iodine-stained, wet-mount preparations and formalin-ether as a sedimentation method. Demographic information such as age, gender, and symptoms of patients, were recorded in the questionnaire. Three stool samples were collected from each patient in disposable plastic containers. Data were analyzed using chi-square, ANOVA, and t-test SPSS V. 24 software. Results: From the total of 2500 cases, 345 (13.8%) cases were positive for Blastocystis sp., 56.5% of patients were male, and 43.5% were female. A total of 33.3% of patients had a clinical symptom and 66.7% of patient had no clinical symptoms. Anorexia was the most common symptom in patients with Blastocystis sp. Conclusions: The use of appropriate diagnostic laboratory procedures in hospitals and medical centers can provide an effective and accurate diagnosis that will play an important role in the promotion of community health; considering some unspecific signs could help the health professionals to have correct diagnose.

Control of cross-contamination in dental prostheses laboratories in Galicia

Dental laboratories are a potential source of cross-contamination. This study aims to assess its control in Galicia. Voluntary random telephone interviews resulted in 149 completed questionnaires. The variables are described by percentages or means and standard deviations. A bivariate analysis was undertaken using the Chi square test. Participants were mostly middle-age (mean=45.7, SD=9.8) males (68.5%) with 20.8 (SD=10.5) years of professional experience in middle-size urban (58.4%) laboratories, who identified a higher risk when receiving items from the clinic (80.6%). Most technicians (57.7%) have a written protocol. Many (55.0%), significantly older males, do not check for item disinfection. Most technicians use gloves (62.4%) particularly younger staff at larger laboratories. Fifty-five point seven percent had been vaccinated against hepatitis B. Only 22.0% of technicians reported receiving training in cross-contamination control. Identified cross-infection control practices are below standards, and lack of training and protocols are a matter for concern.

Recasting Urban Governance through Leeds City Lab: Developing Alternatives to Neoliberal Urban Austerity in Co‐production Laboratories

AbstractThis article reports on a research project, Leeds City Lab, that brought together partner organizations to explore the meanings and practices of co‐production in the context of urban change. Our intention is to offer a response to the crisis in urban governance by combining the growing academic and practitioner debates on co‐production and urban laboratories in order to explore radically different institutional personae that can respond to deficits in contemporary urban governance, especially relating to participation and disenfranchisement, and ultimately unlock improved ways of designing, managing and living in cities. Our analysis has identified four key ways in which co‐production labs can recast urban governance to more progressive ends: by moving beyond traditional organizational identities and working practices, embracing grey spaces of new civic interfaces, foregrounding emotions and power and committing to durable solutions. Ultimately, what we point towards is that urban governance can be more effectively enacted in co‐production labs that bring together universities and the public, private and civil society sectors on a basis of equality, trust and openness. These spaces have the potential to unlock a city's knowledge, resources and assets, to unpack complex challenges and to build capacity to deliver improved city‐wide solutions.