Walked Streets. Observatory of citizen science in motion
Observatory of citizen science in motion
TURBA'S PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/S
Summary
The project aims to create a citizen science Observatory on pedestrian mobility to inform the design and evaluation of urban policies. To this end, a pilot program will be implemented in five Barcelona neighborhoods recently pedestrianized through superblocks and green axes, with the intent of scaling to other Spanish and European cities.
The methodology is structured around knowledge co-creation workshops grounded in citizens’ real-world experiences as they navigate public space. Its goal is to analyze how the interaction between objective factors (urban design, environmental, infrastructure) and subjective factors (perceptions, habits, memories) influences pedestrian behavior in pedestrianized zones. The proposal combines quantitative techniques (GPS, spatial analysis, surveys) and qualitative methods (adapted mobile interviews and group discussions), designed to identify the mobility preferences of a diverse population. Target participants include adults across different genders, ages, backgrounds, and income levels, as well as visually impaired individuals, groups typically underrepresented in technical and scientific research settings.
By systematizing the collected data, the project will enable an integrated analysis of both the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of urban walking. These findings will populate an open-access database feeding the Observatory’s platform, serving as a benchmark repository for participatory research and sustainable mobility policymaking. This infrastructure will allow urban planners to monitor public space usage patterns and integrate scientific evidence derived from citizen experience into the design, evaluation, and fine-tuning of pedestrianization interventions, ensuring that generated knowledge directly benefits both citizens and their immediate urban environments.
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