Mobile research labs to explore nature-based solutions in Japanese cities : - a way to bridge disciplinary divides?

The mobile research lab is an emerging research methodology increasingly applied in urban studies to investigate phenomena like places, infrastructures, nature and inhabitants of cities. This essay critically explores this relatively new methodology, also known as ‘mobile labs’, as part of in-situ research for a two-year research project supported by the International Fellowship Program of the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science on ‘The governance dynamics of nature-based solutions to enhance urban resilience'. Nature-based solutions (NBS), as deliberate interventions using properties of nature in cities to build urban resilience, have been analyzed as a controversial urban phenomenon through mobile lab methodology. Building on previous experience, mobile labs can be characterized by key features, including an inter- or transdisciplinary research team, which investigates an urban phenomenon or controversy in a collaborative and reflexive manner. We have found that while the application of this method yields extremely valuable insights into the subject under study, some challenges might occur due to differences in research cultures, language and administration. (Less)