Linking the urban exposome and Living Labs for co-created health interventions / 5.09.2022

URBANOME partners presented their integrated approach to urban health at OLLD2022, highlighting the role of Living Labs in translating complex environmental data into real-world interventions.

In September 2022, partners of the URBANOME project contributed to the Open Living Lab Days (OLLD2022) in Turin with a workshop titled “The URBANOME paradigm: Exploring the urban exposome to co-create urban interventions for better health and wellbeing” (more information available at: https://www.urbanome.eu/the-urbanome-paradigm-exploring-the-urban-exposome-to-co-create-urban-interventions-for-better-health-and-wellbeing-at-the-olld22/).

The workshop brought together leading research institutions, including the Jožef Stefan Institute, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, INSERM, University of Northumbria, and Aarhus University, to present an integrated framework for understanding how environmental, social, and behavioural factors shape health and wellbeing in urban environments.

A central focus of the session was the role of Urban Living Labs as a bridge between complex environmental health research and practical interventions. The presented approach combines high-resolution environmental monitoring, personal exposure assessment, and participatory methods to capture the urban exposome in real-life contexts. By involving citizens as active contributors and integrating their experiences with sensor-based data, the Living Lab framework enables a more comprehensive understanding of exposure patterns and their impacts.

The workshop also highlighted how these approaches support co-creation and testing of interventions, as well as the development of policy-relevant insights. Particular attention was given to linking environmental exposures with behavioural patterns, socio-spatial inequalities, and health outcomes, and to the role of participatory processes in translating this knowledge into actionable strategies.

The session demonstrated how Living Labs, supported by advanced sensing technologies and interdisciplinary collaboration, provide a structured environment for combining scientific analysis with stakeholder engagement, ultimately supporting more effective and inclusive urban health solutions.