City-University Boundary-Spanning Lab

Why this Climate Boundary-Spanning Lab?

Cities everywhere are committing to ambitious climate goals. The Boundary-Spanning Lab helps leaders navigate the multiple boundaries they face as they co-create climate solutions with various stakeholders. Five types of boundaries —vertical, horizontal, stakeholder, demographic, and geographic —make climate action richer and often more challenging. By aligning teaching, research, and community action, students and faculty co-create solutions with neighborhoods and city offices.

We localize global frameworks. We operationalize them in courses and living labs. We amplify what works across communities and cities.

What we do

• Curriculum → Action: Microcredentials and modules for climate planning, resilience, and circular systems—credit-bearing and stackable.

• Research → Policy: Faculty–student studies that feed directly into city climate strategies and reporting frameworks.

• Campuses → Living Labs: Universities and communities become testbeds for clean air, cooling, flood mitigation, food systems, and waste solutions.

• Students → Builders: Action-learning, capstones, and annual challenges that deliver deployable prototypes.

• Leaders → Ready: Climate Leadership Certificates for students, faculty, and civil servants.
  
  

Thematic Tracks (aligned with global climate action domains)

Each track runs a pipeline: diagnose → prototype → pilot → scale.

1. Clean Air & Public Health – Sensors, community monitoring, pollution reduction interventions.

2. Urban Nature & Cooling – Green corridors, pocket parks, rooftop and vertical greening.

3. Water Resilience – Rainwater harvesting, permeable surfaces, stormwater management.

4. Energy & Buildings – Retrofits, campus solar, energy-efficient cooling.

5. Food & Waste Systems – Food waste valorization, composting, circular market systems.

6. Mobility & Transport – Active transport networks, low-carbon commuting solutions.

7. Urban Planning & Resilience – Climate risk mapping, zoning strategies, nature-based solutions.

8. Materials & Circular Economy – Repair/maker culture, zero-waste systems, modular design.
   
   

How we work

1. Problem briefs – City and community partners submit climate challenges and data needs.

2. Team formation – Courses, labs, and student groups assemble cross-disciplinary teams.

3. Rapid cycles – 4–12 week sprints to diagnose, prototype, and field-test solutions.

4. Decision handoff – Results are translated into policy memos, design packages, and proposals.

5. Scale & share – Proven solutions are replicated and shared openly with other cities.
   
   

Benefits for partners

Universities

• Ready-to-use climate modules and microcredentials

• Live briefs for capstones, theses, and practicums

• Recognition as founding academic partners

Cities & Communities

• Practical pilots that solve immediate climate challenges

• Data and decision support aligned with global standards

• Community engagement that builds trust and resilience

Students & Faculty

• Real-world portfolios and publications

• Pathways to fellowships and ventures

• Climate Leadership Certificates

Impact we track

• Air quality improvements / reduced heat exposure / reduced flood risk

• Trees planted, shaded areas created, water captured

• Waste diverted, food waste valorized

• Students credentialed, prototypes deployed, policies updated

• Health and economic co-benefits

Governance & quality assurance

• Academic Council – university-appointed representatives

• City Steering Group – city climate, planning, health, environment offices

• Community Board – local leaders and youth representatives

• Ethics & Safety – research integrity, data governance, maker safety protocols

• IP & Attribution – shared intellectual property with open-knowledge defaults

Join the Lab

• Universities: Adopt a track, nominate faculty leads, align courses.

• Cities & Communities: Submit a problem brief; co-host a pilot.

• Students: Enroll in microcredentials; join the annual Climate Innovation Challenge.

• Industry & Funders: Sponsor tracks; co-incubate ventures; fund scale-ups.