A Living Lab Framework for Participation in Mobility Projects: A Case of Trondheim

As urban mobility systems face growing complexity, traditional participation methods often fall short in engaging diverse stakeholders. Living Labs offers real-life environments for testing and developing mobility solutions through collaboration between stakeholders and actors like municipalities, citizens, students, and industry. Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology was applied, and the researchers engaged directly with the MoST living lab for over two years documented their experiences through the activities in the living lab. Building on a theoretical understanding of stakeholder engagement and collaborative governance, findings reveal that MoST functions as an intermediary actor, fostering continuous, adaptive collaboration among diverse stakeholders. While the study is context-specific to Trondheim, the principles and structures identified, the Public–Private–People Partnership (PPPP) model, and the emphasis on co-creation offer transferable insights for other urban settings seeking inclusive and sustainable mobility solutions. Implications for practice include the adoption of Living Labs as testbeds for participatory planning, promoting collaborative governance, and enhancing stakeholder participation.