On July 16, 2024, the University of the University of the Aegean – UAegean team hosted an engaging workshop during the 17th International Conference on Travel Behavior Research (IATBR 2024) in Vienna, Austria. The purpose of the workshop was to explore how “Living Labs” can serve as real-world testbeds for innovative solutions aimed at mitigating climate change.
Living Labs: A Collaborative Approach to Sustainability
It was highlighted the concept of Living Labs as dynamic platforms for co-designing, testing, and refining sustainable solutions in the European Union’s initiatives. Participants had the unique opportunity to delve into eight EU-funded Living Lab projects, each showcasing pioneering approaches to tackle climate change. Regarding CLIMAS, Prof. Polydoropoulou (UAegean) and Dr. Floridea Di Ciommo (cambiaMO) presented project’s ambition, which is to support a societal transformation into climate resilience.
➔ by empowering citizens through an innovative toolbox and;
➔ by delivering insights and recommendations to support the policymaking process.
Insights from the Chios Living Lab workshop about creating future scenarios for a climate-resilient society were presented. More specifically, one of the most interesting insights from the citizens of Chios was the vision of an island where sustainability will exist as a societal demand, and recommendations made by citizens assemblies about sustainable touristic infrastructure, smart agriculture will be implemented by policymakers.
