Institutional Repository
Technical University of Crete
Technical University of Crete
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| URI: | http://purl.tuc.gr/dl/dias/F7F0FC4F-FFF4-481B-86B6-A00254C16130 | ||
| Year | 2025 | ||
| Type of Item | Diploma Work | ||
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| Bibliographic Citation | Angeliki Psoma, "Together for water: the contribution of living labs as participatory tools for sustainable management of groundwater", Diploma Work, School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Crete, Chania, Greece, 2025 https://doi.org/10.26233/heallink.tuc.104112 | ||
| Appears in Collections |
In a world where the sustainable management of natural resources is becoming increasingly complex, providing viable water solutions requires more than technical expertise; it requires collaboration. It is no coincidence that European Directives, national legislations, international environmental and water agreements, and reports from institutions such as the UN, UNESCO and the World Bank — along with contemporary scientific literature — repeatedly emphasize the importance of participatory governance.This thesis explores how Living Labs can serve as participatory tools — particularly in the field of sustainable groundwater interventions — raising the central question of the key role that the environmental engineer must necessarily play. Due to the nature of today’s multidimensional challenges and the interdisciplinary scope of the profession, environmental engineers are in a unique position to bridge the gap between science, governance and society. Beyond their technical tasks, they are expected to act as coordinators, facilitators, knowledge brokers and project managers, and to plan, organize and implement participatory Living Labs.The methodological approach is based on a comprehensive literature review on key concepts such as participation, stakeholders, social learning and the Living Lab model. This is complemented by several case studies in which the implementation of a participatory project in the field of groundwater is simulated.The result of the research is the synthesis of a practical guide for engineers, accompanied by scientifically based and tested participatory tools and techniques. The thesis contributes to the field by offering concrete guidelines for incorporating participatory practices in groundwater projects in Greece and strengthening the practical leadership and public engagement of technical professionals in environmental governance.
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