Rzeszów is one of the five EU Mission Cities in Poland and the largest city in south-eastern Poland with a population of 197,268 (2023). As an EU Mission City, Rzeszów aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80% by 2030 in areas such as energy, transport, waste, and industry while improving its green infrastructure. Achieving such an ambitious target requires innovation and collaboration with different stakeholders to implement a portfolio of actions.
Urban Lab Rzeszów
An important aspect of the city’s activities is the involvement of different stakeholders, including residents, in climate initiatives. Rzeszów has taken a collaborative approach to solving problems in the urban environment by creating an innovation centre - Urban Lab Rzeszów.
The Lab is both a physical space and an organisation/city department which allows residents and stakeholders including local authorities, government officials, scientists, and business representatives to meet, exchange ideas, and share perspectives. It has been used by the city to facilitate conversations and promote collaboration between, with the hope of identifying topical problems and developing solutions to improve the quality of life for city inhabitants.
Initially, Urban Lab Rzeszów was a collaborative pilot project (launched in 2019) based on the concept developed by the Institute for Urban and Regional Development and with direct support from the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy. In 2022, the lab was transformed into a city department, pivoting its operations to better fit the needs of city administration and residents. The lab functions on two levels – strategic and operational, encompassing a variety of activities and initiatives. See the video below:
The success of the Urban Lab Rzeszów can be demonstrated through its day-to-day operations, full event schedule, and a significant number of ongoing projects and initiatives. Many of the initiatives taking place in the Lab are related to climate action and the city’s climate neutrality objectives, e.g., a competition for primary school pupils ‘Go Green Eco Bicycle Shelter’ or a Norwegian Circular School Hackathon involving students and teachers in developing solutions to grow the circular economy of Rzeszów.
Urban Lab walk-through video
What were the key drivers supporting the implementation?
- Multilevel governance: The creation of the Urban Lab Rzeszów was supported by the Mayor of Rzeszów and financially by the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy.
- Access to relevant expertise: The concept for the lab originally came from a model for residential and municipal cooperation put forth by the Polish Institute for Urban and Regional Development. The concept was further adapted once the Urban Lab became a city department based on the accumulated experience.
- Stakeholder engagement: Engagement and cooperation between citizens, city officials, NGOs, research institutions, experts, social councils, and enthusiasts of the city promoted connectivity and cohesion for establishing the Urban Lab and continuing pursuit of addressing city-wide challenges and climate neutrality targets.
- Accessibility and openness to inhabitants: The key characteristic of the lab from the very beginning was that it is a space open to the residents of Rzeszów free of charge. Offering such a space and open organisational framework enables bottom-up initiatives and promotes creativity within urban projects and solutions.
- Location: The premises of the Urban Lab is located on the city’s main promenade, making it identifiable and accessible to all residents and visitors. Such an attractive location influenced the rapid growth of locals’ interest and its active use.
And what were the challenges and barriers?
- Management: Maintenance and continuous functioning of the Urban Lab beyond the pilot phase required finding additional financial and human resources. Currently, the lab is managed by a team of 7-8 people as part of the city administration.
- Ensuring long-term commitment: Although the Urban Lab has proven to be an effective tool for engaging residents and other urban stakeholders, it is subjected to various external risks, e.g., global pandemic, participatory fatigue, and others. Therefore, it is important to continuously adapt to emerging contexts and situations while demonstrating the significance of individual contributions in bringing about change in the urban environment.
- Diversifying thematic areas: Urban and climate challenges are diverse and multifaceted, requiring updating and pursuing new thematic areas. It requires diversification and enlargement of the team of experts as well as adaptation to the ever-changing urban political and social contexts.
- Evaluation and monitoring: The Urban Lab implements a variety of projects and activities, but it is difficult to collect tangible data and assess the success of their implementation to systematically monitor and adapt strategies to changing conditions.
Potential for replication
An Urban Laboratory concept as a collaborative platform for stakeholder engagement and urban innovation is suitable for replication in any city willing to bridge the gap between the city administration and its residents. However, it requires collective political backing, funding, and community support/acceptance for urban innovation initiatives.
For an Urban Laboratory to be successfully replicated and integrated within another city, the activities of the lab must be structured to fit the local contexts. The thematic areas of focus for the lab should be organised around the city’s distinct challenges and climate targets. Rzeszów’s experience highlights that it is important to systematically evaluate and adapt strategies, activities, and projects to changing political and social conditions.
The success of an Urban Laboratory is also highly dependent on the existing organisational culture within the municipality. Effective operation requires openness and cooperation with all parties and collaboration with a broad spectrum of stakeholders.
Additional insights on the from the implementation of the Urban Lab in Rzeszów (and Gdynia): How We Made the Urban Lab