CitiObs is a project dedicated to empowering practice-based knowledge and implementing tools for the co-creation of data and local action through Citizen Observatories (COs). These COs enable citizen engagement, particularly those from marginalized communities, and potentialize the value of environmental observations within urban contexts, integrating them into existing in-situ Earth Observation systems.
The pressure on cities to speed up the process of emissions reduction from pollutants and climate gases is overwhelming. The required measures are likely to be found not only in technological development but also in the required social transformations. CitiObs’ co-creation process facilitates inclusive local actions for sustainability, ensuring that CO data contributes significantly to research and policy development in alignment with the objectives of the European Green Deal. A particular emphasis is placed on air quality and related environmental measures.
This project focuses on developing tools and initiatives with COs in 5 Frontrunner cities, refining them with 30 Implementer cities, and finally showcasing them to 50 Fellow cities. This broad-scale application and adaptation of tools aim to encourage and facilitate COs in diverse cities, fostering the active participation of citizens in urban environment observation using cost-effective sensor technologies and wearables.
CitiObs also ensures uptake and impact beyond the project duration by engaging citizen science practitioners (public and institution-based), and policymakers at the city, regional, national and EU levels in co-design and co-creation activities and embedding the results of those activities in a Knowledge Platform with a detailed CitiObs Cookbook that directs and guides users to relevant CitiObs tools for future use.
