The Learning City: Temporary Housing Projects as Urban Niches for Sustainability Experiments

Abstract

It is widely acknowledged that real-world experimentation is essential for the advancement of sustainable solutions. Urban contexts are perfectly suited for this form of innovation, since they have a high demand for solutions and also offer the necessary resources for the development of new ideas. However, there is a need for a well-defined basis for the selection process of suitable experimental designs for specific cases. This paper presents a typology of various existing sustainability experimental designs, focusing on the distinct features between different types and their respective strengths and weaknesses. Using the case of temporary housing models for Vienna, this paper provides a step-by-step selection process based on a catalogue of questions to match various types of housing projects with experimental designs. By improving the understanding of what the defining features of existing experimental approaches are, more clarity is provided for the design and planning of sociotechnical experiments for greater sustainability.