Living Labs
Four regional anchors where knowledge is co-produced.
1. Brazil: Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre
The Brazil Living Lab consolidates governance diagnostics and neighbourhood pilots to understand how budgeting, appraisal and fragmented mandates affect investment in walkability, pairing analytics with practitioner training to convert spatial diagnostics into priority setting tools that shift walking from discretionary spending to programmed municipal budgets.
Co-led By
Dr Ana Larranaga
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul
Dr Ana Marcela Ardila
Federal University of Minas Gerais
Focus: a multi-scalar walkability index that brings spatial analysis and community participation together for policy.
2. Ghana: Accra and Cape Coast
The Ghana Living Lab investigates children's walking and caregiving mobilities under climate stress across contrasting urban settings, combining child and caregiver centred methods, PPGIS and walkability audits with a capacity strand for municipal actors.
Co-led By
Dr Regina Amoako-Sakyi
University of Cape Coast
Dr Louis Kusi Frimpong
University of Environment and Sustainable Development
Focus: children's walking and caregiving mobilities under climate stress, connecting health, equity and climate resilience.
3. India: Ahmedabad and Bengaluru
The India Living Lab pairs participatory research with teaching and municipal practice, improving walkability in low-income neighbourhoods and feeding findings directly into active pedestrian interventions with local authorities.
Co-led By
Dr Rutul Joshi
CEPT University
Avinash Dubedi
World Resources Institute India
Focus: participatory research that improves walkability in low-income neighbourhoods and feeds directly into teaching and municipal practice.
4. Malta: Campus and City Districts
The Malta Living Lab pairs walkability diagnostics with citizen engagement, using stakeholder workshops and dashboard-guided voting to connect evidence directly to decision making on campus and across city districts.
Prof Maria Attard
University of Malta
Led By
Focus: stakeholder workshops and dashboard-guided voting that connect citizen evidence directly to decisions.
Four anchors. One global agenda. Knowledge co-created with communities, institutions and advocates.
Take part in the Living Labs launch through the Regional Walking Dialogues, held in partnership with Walk21.