Living Labs

MIT’s Living Lab framework is grounded in a model of a  place-based research platform that utilizes the university campus as a test-bed for research, innovation and the co-production of knowledge. The living lab concept may be thought of as a variant of the experiential learning model that involves concrete experience followed by observation, reflection and the formation of new concepts and testing in new situations.

With a focus on designing solution scenarios for MIT for the short and long term, Solving for Carbon Neutrality at MIT, led by instructors Director of Sustainability and DUSP lecturer Julie Newman, and Professor of Mechanical Engineering Tim Gutowski, engages students in project-based learning leveraging the campus as a test bed for ideas. The Spring 2022 cohort of students crafted plans to reach net zero by 2050.

On the third floor of Building E38—home to MITOS along with the Environmental Solutions Initiative and the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab—sustainably sourced and low VOC materials and finishes are tested by occupants each day. Though E38 has countless green building features, some materials on the third floor are being used in order to test their viability as sustainable alternatives for additional spaces around campus.

The Campus Sustainability Incubator Fund seeks to enable MIT community members to use the MIT campus as a test bed for research in sustainable operations, management and design. The seed funds enable teams of students, faculty, and researchers to explore the physical facility and social context in which they are working, living and learning at MIT

The Hive, MIT's new sustainability garden, is a collaborative project between the Office of Sustainability, Undergraduate Association Committee on Sustainability (UA Sustain), and MIT Grounds Services within the Department of Facilities. The Hive aims to bring the community together for sustainability education, collaborative thinking, and relaxation. Construction of the garden was completed in the summer of 2019.

The program seeks to nudge the MIT community to rethink their commute. Since it began, the program has contributed to a nearly 15 percent reduction in on campus parking demand and consistent year over year increases in employee public transportation use, surpassing its initial goal. MITOS works collaboratively with MIT Parking and Transportation, the Transit Lab, and student research fellows to analyze data and understand the current and potential impact of Access MIT.

Led by Director of Sustainability and DUSP lecturer Julie Newman, and Professor of Mechanical Engineering Tim Gutowski, Exploring Sustainability at Different Scales provided an introduction to the concept of sustainable development through the UN framework on Sustainable Development Goals and from the perspectives of different disciplines, including, business and economics, science, engineering, social sciences and the humanities.