ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how urban living labs (ULL) and experiments relate to established urban governance structures and priorities. It concerns the ways in which ULL and experiments connect to each other within a city-wide governance context, and how this context both shapes, and is shaped by, experimentation. The chapter focuses on the potential for portfolios of experiments to shape and drive urban transformation, and by extension, the durability of experimentation as a governance strategy. It shows the relationship between ULL/experiments and urban governance priorities. The chapter explores the problematic through research on cycling, ULL and experiments in Greater Manchester. It sets outs key lessons from Greater Manchester case and summarises argument. ULL have emerged as the preferred venues in which cities seek to stage multiple experiments related to the challenges of climate adaptation, sustainable urban development and smart technology. The Oxford Road corridor is Manchester's ULL and constitutes the highest concentration of socio-technical experiments in Greater Manchester.
