Universities are anchor institutions, nurturing knowledge and innovation ecosystems within their regions. University campuses can be understood as complex urban realms where spatial planning, governance and everyday practices converge. Within this context, living labs provide a mechanism for building collaborations among stakeholders and enabling real-world experimentation across disciplinary and sectoral boundaries. Grounded in the quadruple helix, living labs align with the fourth-generation university, which emphasises societal transformation, place-based innovation and cross-sector partnerships.

This paper draws on two datasets:(1) a series of workshops conducted with 28 members of staff at Cardiff University to investigate drivers and barriers to embedding living labs in research culture (2) case studies drawing on first-hand experiences of initiating and sustaining living labs at Cardiff University as part of education (design studios in planning and architecture), and business operations (the Ecosystem Resilience and Biodiversity Action Plan (ERBAP) to enhance campus biodiversity, and the Anti-Racist Living Lab to embed inclusivity). The findings from the above datasets illustrate the potential of living labs as a form of experiential and interdisciplinary learning for everyone involved, and the challenges around funding, timescales and creating shared understanding of living labs. Most importantly, living labs offer a renewed sense of agency for staff, students, and external partners to actively learn together for urban change. We argue that living labs function as a transformative pedagogical framework of social learning, fostering collaboration and real-world engagement, while requiring deeper embedding within institutional structures and cultures to realise their potential for systemic change.