Between 2013 and 2018, the Institute of Urban Design and Landscape Architecture of TU Wien partnered with the Housing and Urban Development Division (HUD) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to create a scientific foundation for innovative methods that foster participatory urban planning and design. An experimental design approach was applied, combining people- centered planning, participatory planning tools, urban strategies, and urban design. The Urban Design Lab (UDL) worked in over twenty emerging cities in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
The “Urban Design Lab Handbook” displays the result of a five years planning process: not only 21 projects all