WeCount
18082
From 2019 to 2021
Newsletter: Our WeCount policy brief on the Covid impact on citizen science activities was picked up by the EU-CitizenScience newsletter: EU-CitizenScience Newletter
WeCount aims to empower citizens to take a leading role in the production of data, evidence and knowledge around mobility in their own neighborhoods, and at street level. The project follows participatory citizen science methods to co-create and use innovative low cost, automated, road traffic counting sensors (i.e. Telraam) and multi-stakeholder engagement mechanisms in 5 pilots in Madrid, Ljubljana, Dublin, Cardiff and Leuven. Following this approach, we are able to quantify local road transport (cars, large vehicles, active travel modes and speed), produce scientific knowledge in the field of mobility and environmental pollution, and co-design informed solutions to tackle a variety of road transport challenges. Moreover, the project will provide cost-effective data for local authorities, at a far greater temporal and spatial scale than what would be possible in classic traffic counting campaigns, thereby opening up new opportunities for transportation policy making and research. In WeCount, we empower citizens to develop evidence-led interventions into the political discourse on civic and environmental issues. By putting citizens at the heart of the innovation process, the project seeks to overcome existing technological and societal silos so that citizens can champion a new perspective on road transport that take into account their own concerns in pursuit of better quality of life and more equitable, healthy futures.
Transport & Mobility Leuven is coordinating this project.
Europe-wide traffic survey to recruit 'citizen scientists'
COVID-19: Citizen science reveals changing travel habits
Belgian and Spanish pilots engage 400 families in traffic counting for sustainable mobility
More information on the five case studies:
At the core of WeCount are the five citizen science activities in the five cities in Europe. The table below presents an overview of the scope of these cases:
WeCount aims to empower citizens to take a leading role in the production of data, evidence and knowledge around mobility in their own neighborhoods, and at street level. The project follows participatory citizen science methods to co-create and use innovative low cost, automated, road traffic counting sensors (i.e. Telraam) and multi-stakeholder engagement mechanisms in 5 pilots in Madrid, Ljubljana, Dublin, Cardiff and Leuven. Following this approach, we are able to quantify local road transport (cars, large vehicles, active travel modes and speed), produce scientific knowledge in the field of mobility and environmental pollution, and co-design informed solutions to tackle a variety of road transport challenges. Moreover, the project will provide cost-effective data for local authorities, at a far greater temporal and spatial scale than what would be possible in classic traffic counting campaigns, thereby opening up new opportunities for transportation policy making and research. In WeCount, we empower citizens to develop evidence-led interventions into the political discourse on civic and environmental issues. By putting citizens at the heart of the innovation process, the project seeks to overcome existing technological and societal silos so that citizens can champion a new perspective on road transport that take into account their own concerns in pursuit of better quality of life and more equitable, healthy futures.
Transport & Mobility Leuven is coordinating this project.
Europe-wide traffic survey to recruit 'citizen scientists'
COVID-19: Citizen science reveals changing travel habits
Belgian and Spanish pilots engage 400 families in traffic counting for sustainable mobility
More information on the five case studies:
At the core of WeCount are the five citizen science activities in the five cities in Europe. The table below presents an overview of the scope of these cases:
| Where | Topic | Local issue to tackle | Which communities | Type of data | Contribution scientific gaps |
| Leuven (BE) | Traffic & Mobility Planning | Traffic management, rat running, run-up cycling routes and speed compliance | Citizen action groups in districts Kessel-Lo, Wilsele and Heverlee | Traffic counting and speed | Fine granularity traffic counting data to address local traffic planning. |
| Madrid (ES) | Car speed compliance and Air Quality | Emission reduction and speed compliance | Communities inside and around the Madrid Central area and around the A5 highway entrance. | Traffic counting and speed & NO2 diffusion | Fine granularity of traffic, speed compliance and air quality data for environmental research and policy. |
| Cardiff (UK) | Citizen Behaviour and Air Pollution | Congestion, air pollution, health conditions. | Driving children to school, commuting to work and the Cardiff Air Quality Management Areas. | Traffic counting in combination with AQ measurement | Collaborative science-policy for citizen, local government and public health bodies |
| Dublin (IE) | Liveability | reduced liveability due to high commercial traffic activity and reduced environmental quality (air quality, noise) | Citizen action groups in the district of Ringsend | Traffic counts, AQ, noise dB(A) with local meteorology; spatial data |
Bottom up geospatial big data to address local environmental issues. |
| Ljubljana (SI) | Cyclists | network of cycle paths in the regional area, regulating a high quality bicycle infrastructure on short distances | Municipality of Ljubljana + neighboring municipalities (Domžale, Kamnik) | Bicycle counts | Low-cost bike counting sensor |
