“Smarterized” urban project process with living lab approach: Exploration through a case study

Abstract

This paper explore the relation between urban project practices in peri-urban context and innovative ways to develop solutions. Urban project process imposes linear and sequenced engineering framework and regulates stakeholder's links by a regulatory actor's polarization. However, it does not generate innovative solutions linking local and global stakes. Here, starting by a theorical field of urban project and innovation studying, we improve first observations from a qualitative research approach with 51 various regional urban project stakeholders within 4 Focus Groups. This exploratory study provides basis about urban project process and Living Lab interactions and gives a better understanding of the professional context. Based on these findings, we summarize that specific innovation management gives means to allow renew practices in urban project process. Living Lab implementation can generate an open-innovated and collaborative environment centred on “Use”. It gives the design sense to improve solution appropriation by finals users. Also, it allows large stakeholders mobilization to produce, capitalize and distribute “Uses”, as language and knowledge.