This study focuses on the use of urban living labs (ULLs) as a teaching and learning strategy toward education for sustainable development (ESD) in higher education institutions (HEIs). The article presents an exhaustive literature review on the ESD approach in HEIs, the conceptualization and understanding of ULLs, and the use of ULLs as learning environments. Several ULL case studies in HEIs that seek to foster ESD through innovation and experimentation in real-world settings are presented. Each case describes the type, approach, characteristics, results, limitations, and challenges in relation to sustainability. It highlights the need for HEIs to adapt to the ESD approach and become role models for sustainability. It is concluded that ULLs are closely related to ESD and the SDGs, provide a practical and applied learning environment for students, encourage the active participation of students in identifying and solving sustainability problems in their local community, and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration between students and academics from different disciplines. All in all, ULLs can be an effective teaching and learning strategy in HEIs toward ESD. In addition, the lack of specific empirical results on the evaluation of ULL as teaching and learning tools toward ESD in HEIs is highlighted, which justifies the need for further research in this field.

The University of Guayaquil, which shares the same name as the city where it is located, faces the challenge of its image transformation for the 21st century. It was deemed necessary to identify details about the urban evolution of the city over time, in relation to the changes produced by the project’s site and its direct area of influence. The goal is to integrate the main university campus within a framework which guarantees sustainability and allows innovation in the living lab. To achieve this, the action research method was applied, focused on the community participation and the logic framework. The proposal, the management model, and the integrated working groups were organized with internal users such as professors, students, and university authorities, and external actors such as residents, local business communities, Guayaquil city council, and its local mayor and governor. As result of the diagnosis, six different analysis dimensions were established which correspond to the new urban agenda for the future campus: compactness, inclusiveness, resilience, sustainability, safety, and participation. As a proposal, the urban design integrates the analysis of the dimensions whose financial support and execution are given by the municipality authorities that integrates the campus with its network of community police headquarters.

This study explores the implementation of Urban Living Labs (ULLs) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to promote Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). It adopts a methodology that integrates a mixed approach, combining literature review, validation with experts in the field and analysis of case studies. A structured evaluation tool is proposed based on three constructs: Synergy, Strategy and Pedagogy, which cover the essential characteristics of the three thematic axes: ULLs, ESD and HEIs, through seven indicators. This tool is applied to examine the effective-ness of ULLs in promoting sustainable practices within the university context. The results, vali-dated through experts, exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, demonstrate the reliability and consistency of the evaluative indicators, highlighting the crucial role of ULLs in the integration of sustainability in the curriculum, experiential learning, and the impact social and community. This approach allowed the identification of successful practices and common challenges in the implementation of ULL, as well as the development of a framework of indicators adapted to the specific needs of HEIs. The study concludes by emphasizing the transformative potential of ULLs in HEIs to advance towards sustainable urban transitions, underscoring the need for robust evaluative tools to optimize the contribution of higher education to global sustainable development.

La actual división política de los países, no coincide con la ocupación geográfica de las culturas aborígenes, que especialmente en los pueblos costeros tuvieron un riquísimo intercambio. Las expresiones estéticas, permiten pensar, que a más de un elemento utilitario, respondía a un trabajo psicológico del artesano, sobre sí mismo. En este orden de ideas el símbolo artístico toma un valor de auto revelación, el lenguaje que podía expresar lo Sagrado (Sat = luz - grado = nivel), es decir un grado de iluminación en la conciencia se lo llamó religioso. Los espacios sagrados en las sociedades tradicionales podían ser comprendidos de dos formas: la una proviniendo de las características geográficas del lugar, tales como un clima saludable, belleza del paisaje, presencia de corrientes magnéticas o brisas que estimulaban el sistema nerviosos y favorecían la actividad cerebral, la segunda, en función de las cosas que se hacían en un espacio. Se puede percibir que la sacralidad puede estar dada por ejemplo por la función de la cultura, el arte o la ciencia. Aquellos espacios o lugares eran denominados sagrados. Todo ello, estaba ligado a un entendimiento y una autorrealización personal, más que a un ramillete de creencias. En este trabajo se hace una revisión bibliográfica e históricas de estas manifestaciones de lo sagrado, entendido como el arte y la cultura de los aborígenes que habitaron las costas de lo que hoy conocemos como Ecuador, y la forma en que esta sacralidad influye en la forma de vida de quienes habitamos hoy en día, a partir del conocimiento y reconocimiento de esta cultura como nuestra.

La espiritualidad ha acompañado al ser humano desde el principio de los tiempos, y ha sido en función a ella que se han diseñado y construido las más grandes estructuras, no solo de adoración y vivienda sino también propias de lo que llamamos arte. Es así que en la América Pre colonial nos encontramos con las diferentes culturas aborígenes manifestando su religiosidad a través de templos y lugares sagrados, que con la llegada del español, fueron transformados para la conversión violenta a la religión católica y posteriormente en la época independentista traza con la masonería. Este estudio, analiza las formas arquitectónicas de las culturas aborígenes, desde los templos huancavilcas hasta la sociedad moderna con las blancas catedrales actuales, mediante una técnica cualitativa, bibliográfica, transversal que permite la descripción exhaustiva de los materiales, formas y lugares que cada sociedad ha tenido de acuerdo a su religión y a su propia organización.

(English) The following doctoral thesis presents an investigation into the application and effectiveness of Urban Living Laboratories (ULLs) as transformative educational strategies within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to promote Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Through the application of a diverse methodological framework that includes comprehensive literature reviews, expert validations and extensive case study analyses, with a focus on the Delta Project of the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of Guayaquil, this research significantly advances the understanding of how ULLs can be integrated into higher education curricula. The thesis is structured in seven chapters with its core part made up of three scientific articles. The first part presents a literature review and conceptual framework. This section provides a comprehensive review of the literature on ESD within HEIs, detailing the conceptualisation and operationalisation of ULLs. It explores the fundamental theories and practices of ESD, emphasising the role of HEIs in leading sustainability initiatives. The review also covers the characteristics and typologies of ULLs, placing them within the broader context of sustainable urban development and educational innovation. In the second part, the thesis presents an innovative evaluation tool (E-ULL-HEIs), designed to measure the impact and effectiveness of ULLs in promoting sustainable practices within the academic environment. This tool evaluates ULLs through three constructs: Synergy, Strategy and Pedagogy, which describe key interactions for ESD. Synergy emphasises cross-sectoral and disciplinary cooperation; Strategy addresses clarity of purpose and lasting outcomes; and Pedagogy combines the incorporation of new knowledge with learning and research impact. These constructs are developed into seven key indicators covering the essential elements of lifelong learning, ESD and higher education institutions. By applying this assessment tool to fifty case studies, the research validates the reliability and consistency of these indicators. The results of these studies, confirmed by exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha coefficient, demonstrate the robustness of the tool in capturing the nuanced impacts of ULL on educational strategies and community engagement. This evaluation framework not only facilitates the assessment of ULL contributions to sustainability, but also ensures their alignment with educational learning outcomes and the broader Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the third part, this assessment tool is applied in the Delta Project, a ULL at the University of Guayaquil, Ecuador. This tool was crucial to identify both the strengths and weaknesses of the project. The findings highlight the impact on diversity and stakeholder participation, interdisciplinarity, curricular integration, learning and research. However, it also identified challenges in terms of cross-sectoral collaboration and student engagement, providing valuable lessons on the importance of strategic planning and adaptability. The results of this doctoral research highlight the transformative potential of ULLs in HEIs, highlighting them as central to promoting sustainable urban transitions. However, the thesis also identifies challenges in cross-sectoral collaboration and student engagement that provide critical insights into the strategic planning necessary for the successful adaptation and replication of ULL models in different cultural and academic contexts. (Català) La tesi doctoral següent presenta una investigació sobre l'aplicació i l'efectivitat dels Urban Living Labs (ULLs) com a estratègies educatives transformadores dins de les Institucions d'Educació Superior (IES) per promoure l'Educació per al Desenvolupament Sostenible (EDS). Mitjançant l'aplicació d'un marc metodològic divers que inclou revisions exhaustives de la literatura, validacions d'experts i amplies anàlisis d'estudis de cas, amb un enfocament al Projecte Delta de la Facultat d'Arquitectura i Urbanisme de la Universitat de Guayaquil, aquesta investigació avança significativament en la comprensió de com els ULL es poden integrar en els plans destudi de leducació superior. La tesi està estructurada en set capítols amb la part central composta per 3 articles científics. La primera part presenta una revisió de la literatura i el marc conceptual. Aquesta secció proporciona una revisió exhaustiva de la literatura sobre EDS dins de les IES, detallant la conceptualització i operacionalització dels ULL. Explora les teories i pràctiques fonamentals de l'EDS, emfatitzant el paper de les IES a l'hora de liderar iniciatives de sostenibilitat. La revisió també cobreix les característiques i tipologies dels ULL, ubicant-les dins del context més ampli del desenvolupament urbà sostenible i la innovació educativa. A la segona part, la tesi presenta una eina d'avaluació innovadora (E-ULL-HEIs), dissenyada per mesurar l'impacte i l'eficàcia de les ULL a la promoció de pràctiques sostenibles dins l'entorn acadèmic. Aquesta eina avalua les ULL a través de tres constructes: Sinergia, Estratègia i Pedagogia, que descriuen interaccions clau per a l'EDS. Sinergia emfatitza la cooperació intersectorial i disciplinària; Estratègia aborda la claredat dobjectius i resultats duradors; i Pedagogia combina la incorporació de nous coneixements amb limpacte en aprenentatge i recerca. Aquests conceptes es desenvolupen en set indicadors clau que cobreixen els elements essencials de laprenentatge permanent, lEDS i les institucions deducació superior. En aplicar aquesta eina d'avaluació a cinquanta casos d'estudi, la investigació valida la confiança i la consistència d'aquests indicadors....