Even though cities occupy 4% of the EU's land area, over 75% of EU citizens call them home. The increasing urban population needs to develop at the same pace as the cities’ quality of life. Levels of noise pollution, air quality, building efficiency and transportation all contribute to citizens’ daily wellbeing. Because of this, citizens are now more involved in creating more sustainable and liveable cities.
Supporting cities in accelerating their green transformation is also essential for reaching the goals of the European Green Deal, including climate-neutrality by 2050, and the aims of the EU Mission Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities. Since 2014, the European Research Executive Agency (REA) has managed over 830 projects relevant to the Cities Mission under the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programmes. The aim is to provide practical solutions through research and innovation, novel governance models and collaboration, as well as citizen engagement.
Citizen Science: a new way to contribute to environmental science
Citizen Science means that anyone in society can have an input in scientific research. Involving citizens in scientific discoveries can help them make better decisions for themselves as well as for their city and for fellow-citizens.
Citizens can also help provide a wider source of data and information for scientists to base their analysis and research on. Their involvement can therefore improve evidence-based policymaking and decision-making.
Here are some of the REA managed and EU-funded research projects excelling in citizen involvement in urban areas.
DivAirCity: The power of diversity and social inclusion as a mean for reducing air pollution and achieving green-urban nexus in climate-neutral cities
Human diversity is a valuable resource when it comes to changing the cities we live in and social inequality contributes to isolated, unhealthy and unequal urban areas. This is why DivAirCity plans to define new models towards cultural-driven green cities. By gathering data, empowering citizens and sharing knowledge, the project is set to help areas in European cities such as Aarhus (DK), Bucharest (RO), Castellon (ES), Orvieto (IT) and Potsdam (D).
More about DivAirCity.
SOCIO-BEE: Wearables and droneS fOr CIty Socio-Environmental Observations and BEhavioral ChangE
Want to improve local air-quality? SOCIO-BEE invites citizens to participate in air-quality measurements by providing them with wearable air sensors. Citizens get to decide their level of engagement - from ‘worker bees’ to ‘queen bees’ - and play a key role in gathering air quality data from cities in Spain, Italy and Greece. The data will then serve as a scientific basis for policymaking.
Read more about SOCIO-BEE.
IMPETUS
Funded under Horizon Europe, IMPETUS is supporting citizen science and recognising its value by enabling a wider range of citizen initiatives to access funding. In order to facilitate peer-learning, the project created The Accelerator, a programme for support, training and resources. IMPETUS also organises the European Union Prize for Citizen Science, a yearly event awarding outstanding achievements of civil society and citizens.
Discover more about IMPETUS.
MOSAIC: Mission-Oriented SwafS to Advance Innovation through Co-creation
MOSAIC is leading big cities, such as Gothenburg and Milan, towards climate neutrality by bringing together different societal actors and focusing on the role of citizens in co-innovation. The project was invited by the Cities Mission Secretariat to join one of the EU Week of Regions sessions, touching upon the importance of Citizen Science in achieving the Mission’s objectives.
Learn more about MOSAIC.
AURORA: Achieving a new European Energy Awareness
The project is tackling energy consumption by developing a mobile app where citizens can input their energy usage, providing them with an energy rating (from A to G). The app aims to help implement eco-conscious habits. The project implements its innovative solutions across five locations in Denmark, England, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. These communities will also crowd-fund photovoltaic facilities locally to produce renewable energy.
More about AURORA.
EnviroCitizen: Citizen Science for Environmental Citizenship: Backyard Birding and the Potential for Cultivating Green Engagement
The Horizon 2020 project aims to research how to encourage environmental citizenship through engagement with citizen science. With partners from Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Cyprus, the project helps citizen scientists working in environmental-based activities strengthen their environmental citizenship – seeing themselves as citizens of the planet. One of the project’s latest achievements is a guide for teachers on environmental citizenship, available in several languages.
More about EnviroCitizen.
Looking for more?
Discover other EU funded projects tackling the Mission Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities challenges by reading our latest factsheet. Don’t forget that you too can get involved in transforming your city by getting inspired by and contributing to citizen science initiatives.
This article was updated on 4 April 2024
Details
- Publication date
- 27 October 2023
- Author
- European Research Executive Agency