Designerly living labs: learning from everyday life experimentation

Conducting living-lab research as part of transformative and transdisciplinary sustainability research presents both practical and methodological challenges. Design approaches and designerly ways of knowing offer alternative ways for generating actionable knowledge. This study examines how designerly living labs facilitate transformative learning through real-world experimentation. As part of the Mistra Sustainable Accessibility and Mobility Services (SAMS) research program, our consortium established a living lab in a semi-urban residential area south of Stockholm, Sweden. In collaboration with academia and private and public actors, we co-designed future prototypes of shared mobility services and implemented and tested them in participants’ everyday lives. This study explores the effects of various interventions, ranging from strict to soft disruptions, on participants’ engagement with sustainable mobility practices and transformative learning processes. The findings suggest that softer disruptions of practices can foster awareness; however, for deeper engagement in transformative learning, intervention strategies that disrupt practices are necessary. The article contributes to sustainability science by conceptualizing designerly living labs as intentionally designed learning spaces. By integrating design methods into living-lab research, the study demonstrates how situated experimentation and the rehearsal of future practices can support transformative learning.