By the editorial team. (Original publication in Spanish)

The air pollution is in the spotlight and has been the focus of various citizen science projects. Indeed, at Ideas for Change we know that there will be no changes or improvements in the quality of life for people and the planet without involving the citizens. Therefore, we are collaborating in the initiative Catalonia - AirAriaAire promoted by the Institut Ramon Llull, which was presented as a complementary initiative during the 2021 Biennale Architettura held in Venice at the end of September.

The project, in which a community of experts and entities dedicated to social innovation such as Fab Lab, IAAC, Open Systems - UB, 4Sfera, Ideas for Change, and the Università Iuav di Venezia have collaborated, proposes a review of the concept of smart cities where the use of technologies is not the solution but a tool for constantly renewing society. Highlighting the role of architecture and urbanism, the exhibition sought to address air pollution and the importance of citizen participation in evidence gathering.

Co-creation to investigate air pollution in Venice

Over three days, we organized a series of workshops with citizens called “VenicAir” together with the FabLab, where, through a participatory citizen sensing strategy, we identified and designed environmental kits to measure air quality and thus contribute to building more sustainable and healthier cities.

On the first day of the workshop, we began by identifying, together with the participants, places in Venice with environmental issues: air pollution, noise, water pollution, unpleasant odors, etc. The goal was for the communities to indicate the places or areas where they encountered these problems on a map of Venice. At the same time, we asked them to share their perception of how these issues affect their health: whether they experience coughing, stinging, eye redness, congestion, headaches, etc. Next, we collaboratively defined the distribution of the  Smart Citizens Kits to collect information on air quality at different points in the city. 

With this decided, we moved on to the part of introducing technology and setting it up to install the kits in the participants' homes. We distributed 10 sensors throughout the city and collected data for 24 hours. During that second day, we maintained an open communication channel for any potential issues and visited different homes to conduct interviews and document the intervention. 

On the third and final day, we jointly analyzed the collected data and compared it between the different sensors. During an iterative activity, the obtained data was discussed, and reference values were sought according to health and environmental organizations.

Finally, we tried to understand the behavior of the data. For example, one participant noted that in the morning, an increase in air pollution (NO2 and PM) was recorded because the cars from the parking lot in front of their building were arriving or leaving, generating a concentration of combustion in the area.

Lastly, we moved on to the design of the action! Through an activity where participants imagined a variety of possible futures for citizen sensing in Venice and the expected outcomes of the study. By working from a vision of the past, the participants could articulate the conditions, resources, stakeholders, and events that could help achieve those outcomes. Some ideas included islands of trees that could absorb pollution, the transition of all boats and water taxis to clean energy, etc. 

The aim of these citizen science sessions was to empower communities to be part of the research and foster improvements to issues that affect and concern them. The sensors remained in the community to continue measuring and gathering evidence to improve the quality of life in Venice.

The reflections and conclusions of the study can be found in the “Quaderns Biennale” published by the Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya.