Real-world laboratories (RwLs) have emerged as a scientifically grounded, sustainability-oriented, transdisciplinary approach to support transformative change through the co-production of knowledge via engagement and experimentation. While originally rooted in urban settings, real-world laboratories have increasingly been developed in rural and marine areas. Urban, rural, and marine areas have unique contextual characteristics that remain insufficiently addressed in both research and practice. This paper offers a first comparative view on real-world laboratories in urban, rural, and marine settings by using four different epistemological and ontological perspectives in spatial science: bio-physical, social-constructivist, geographic, and social-materialistic. We highlight key differences and investigate the implications of identified differences for transformative governance.
Wagner-Ahlfs C., Busse M., Egermann M., de Graaf K., Glaser M., Kempa D., Korzhenevych A., Schwermer H., von Thenen M. and Wolff C. (2026) Real-world laboratories in Urban, Rural, and Marine contexts. Urban Transformations 8(1): 23. 10.1186/s42854-026-00109-w
@article{Wagner-Ahlfs2026,
Title = {Real-world laboratories in Urban, Rural, and Marine contexts},
Author = {Wagner-Ahlfs, Christian and Busse, Maria and Egermann, Markus and de Graaf, Kai and Glaser, Marion and Kempa, Daniela and Korzhenevych, Artem and Schwermer, Heike and von Thenen, Miriam and Wolff, Claudia},
Journal = {Urban Transformations},
Year = {2026},
Pages = {23},
Volume = {8},
Doi = {10.1186/s42854-026-00109-w},
Abstract = {Real-world laboratories (RwLs) have emerged as a scientifically grounded, sustainability-oriented, transdisciplinary approach to support transformative change through the co-production of knowledge via engagement and experimentation. While originally rooted in urban settings, real-world laboratories have increasingly been developed in rural and marine areas. Urban, rural, and marine areas have unique contextual characteristics that remain insufficiently addressed in both research and practice. This paper offers a first comparative view on real-world laboratories in urban, rural, and marine settings by using four different epistemological and ontological perspectives in spatial science: bio-physical, social-constructivist, geographic, and social-materialistic. We highlight key differences and investigate the implications of identified differences for transformative governance.},
}
TY - JOUR
AU - Wagner-Ahlfs, Christian
AU - Busse, Maria
AU - Egermann, Markus
AU - de Graaf, Kai
AU - Glaser, Marion
AU - Kempa, Daniela
AU - Korzhenevych, Artem
AU - Schwermer, Heike
AU - von Thenen, Miriam
AU - Wolff, Claudia
TI - Real-world laboratories in Urban, Rural, and Marine contexts
T2 - Urban Transformations
PY - 2026
SP - 23
VL - 8
DO - 10.1186/s42854-026-00109-w
AB - Real-world laboratories (RwLs) have emerged as a scientifically grounded, sustainability-oriented, transdisciplinary approach to support transformative change through the co-production of knowledge via engagement and experimentation. While originally rooted in urban settings, real-world laboratories have increasingly been developed in rural and marine areas. Urban, rural, and marine areas have unique contextual characteristics that remain insufficiently addressed in both research and practice. This paper offers a first comparative view on real-world laboratories in urban, rural, and marine settings by using four different epistemological and ontological perspectives in spatial science: bio-physical, social-constructivist, geographic, and social-materialistic. We highlight key differences and investigate the implications of identified differences for transformative governance.
ER -
