ClimaGen is a 48-month Horizon Europe project focused on urban regeneration, renaturing, and climate resilience in vulnerable neighbourhoods. Five Demonstration Cities (Gdańsk, Tartu, Torino, Trondheim, Belgrade) will implement 25% increased share of newly created and/or restored public green spaces, while four Replication Cities (Cluj-Napoca, Eindhoven, Gernika, Thessaloniki) will test co-creative solutions and prepare their future implementation. During the project, local ClimaGen Living Labs (ClimaLabs) are being developed, to provide local and regional collaborative governance, involving the arts, culture and youth, entrepreneurship and financing, and organisational resilience.
D2.2 “ClimaLabs Experience Report 1”, presents the first experiences and learnings from the establishment and operation of the nine ClimaGen Living Labs (ClimaLabs). It provides a first look on how ClimaGen Living Labs have been established and are evolving across urban contexts, from the beginning of the project until May 2026.
The report focuses on identifying cross-city learnings and proposing next steps to support cities in advancing their Living Labs in the next project phase. It also documents the application of the conceptual framework of ClimaGen Living Labs defined in the previous D2.1 “ClimaLabs Framework Definition”. The findings are based on exchanges and reflection processes with cities, including four ClimaLab Joint Learning Sessions, bilateral discussions between ENoLL and the city Living Lab teams, inputs from each city’s detailed City Report (D5.1–D13.1), and outcomes from the in-person session “ClimaLabs Exchange Market”, which took place on 29 April 2026 in Thessaloniki. Additional context has been drawn from the ClimaLabs framework which documented the initial Living Lab activities across the participating cities.
The report is addressed to practitioners and stakeholders working on urban regeneration, nature-based solutions, and participatory approaches, who may draw inspiration from the experiences presented. It is also serving as a reflection for ClimaGen partner cities and their Living Lab teams to support the development and consolidation of their Living Labs and ClimaGen cross-cutting partners contributing to methodological alignment and learning across Work Packages.
Across the project cities, all ClimaGen Living Labs have moved beyond the initial planning phase and are operationalising their activities in line with the objectives, milestones and implementation phases in the project. They are at different stages of development and maturity, reflecting the diversity of local contexts and governance environments. They have established active collaboration processes with local stakeholders, with varying degrees of formalising the local partnerships. Most Living Labs are now focusing on strengthening stakeholder ecosystems, refining governance arrangements, preparing interventions, and advancing co-creation processes that will eventually support the implementation of nature-based solutions.
The cross-city analysis confirms the importance for Living Labs to establish a clear direction and prioritise activities from the very start, to ensure alignment of the teams and relevance of the efforts in the long-term. Another important confirmation is the realised role of the Living Lab as a mediator between stakeholder groups. As many ClimaGen demonstration areas are vulnerable neighbourhoods, Living Labs can act as a neutral mechanism to facilitate dialogue between local authorities, businesses, academia, civil society organisations and citizens to ensure that the needs and expectations of all parties are recognised and considered throughout the regeneration process.
Based on these insights, the report identifies priority actions for cities, including strengthening governance and collaboration mechanisms, formalising partnerships where relevant and appropriate, and ensuring that communication and engagement efforts effectively reach diverse stakeholder groups without leaving anyone behind. The report also highlights the importance of maintaining continuous engagement, building trust over time, and creating clear pathways between co-creation activities and implementation.
As the first in a series of three experience reports, this D2.2 provides an initial snapshot of progress and learnings from Living Labs’ establishment and operation activities. It contributes to a process of reflection and improvement of Living Labs throughout the project, as insights presented support both the current implementation of ClimaLabs and the transferability of the approach to other contexts, reinforcing the role of Living Labs in enabling inclusive and climate-resilient urban transformation.
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