Slides from the Citizens Observatories conference in Brussels, covering citizen science for community empowerment. The talk focuses on Mapping for Change work with 20 groups in London. Data management and tools are also covered.

1. Mapping for Change:
Community Science
Muki Haklay
Director / Co-founder
@mhaklay
m.haklay@mappingforchange.org.uk

2. Mapping for Change (MfC): background
 What we do
 Example: air quality studies in London

3. Our roots
 Social enterprise based at UCL; founded in 2008;
built on over a decade worth of experience from
its foundling organisations.
 Promotes and supports community-based
initiatives towards building more sustainable
communities, by using of participatory mapping,
geographic information & geospatial technologies.
 Specialises in community mapping, citizen science,
and using online & off-line community
engagement.

4. Why Mapping?
 To gather local knowledge
 To create new/alternative maps
 To educate and communicate with external
agencies and decision-makers
 To identify key issues for action planning
 To assist with data gathering for research
 To facilitate decision-making process
 To identify data gaps
 To make comparisons between areas
 To expose complex social/spatial interactions

5. Our Model of Engagement
Participatory Research:
 Co-design
 Co-determination
 Flexibility
 Iterative cycles
 Alternative pathways for
different levels of participation
 Varies according to nature of
community engaged

6. Our Work
 Air quality
 Community severance
 Noise pollution
 Urban accessibility
 School of trainers

7. Scrap yard
Nursery
Community Centre
School
Pepys Estate, Deptford,
London
2010

8. Eco-Badge: Ozone Sampling

9. Eco-Badge: Ozone Sampling
Very Unhealthy
Unhealthy
Unhealthy
for Sensitive
Groups
Moderate
Good

10. Wipe Sampling: Metals

11. Wipe Sampling: Metals

12. Diffusion Tubes: NO2 monitoring
Source: West Wiltshire

13. 2011
Highbury

15. The EU has also developed
legislation to limit our exposure to air pollutants.
NO2 Hourly mean 200 μg m-3
(with no more than 18 exceedences per year
Annual mean 40 μg m-3
Local authorities must identify areas where NO2
concentrations are higher than the objectives
(and limit values) and develop local measures to
put things right.

16. Putney Air Quality Monitoring Outcome 2012
 Widely distributed press release
targeted at politicians and media
 Follow-up with Wandsworth
Council, TfL and Mayor’s Office
 Key achievement in persuading
TfL to introduce hybrid and
retro-fitted buses

17. Barbican
2014

18. Barbican
2014
92% knew that the local authority measure air quality, however, only 23% felt
sufficiently informed about the City of London’s work to reduce air pollution.
42 respondents agreed they would make changes to reduce their personal
exposure to air pollution as a result of the project.

20. Over 20 communities across London replicating the
methodology, independently. Many using the online community
map to record their results.

21. 2014
See http://www.silvertowntunnel.co.uk/tag/citizen-science/

23. Upscience citizen observatory?
• New methodology: established sensing technique became cheap, GIS
for analysis and visualisation became ubiquitous, easy to implement
• Policy relevance: methodology is based on familiar tools that can be
easily compared to (EU) standards
• Innovation diffusion: established NGOs/Social Enterprises, then other
interested ad-hoc/local organisation
• Data management: simple information (time/place/value), communities
that work with MfC combined data (but not others!)
• Longevity: only one case of year long monitoring, mostly month or two
• Impact: Policy attention & action, behaviour change

24. Get in touch
http://www.mappingforchange.org.uk
http://www.communitymaps.org.uk
Twitter: @Mapping4Change