We are excited to announce the session “Collaborating on Changing Cities: Citizen Science as an Urban Planning Ally” at EUGEO 2025, taking place 8–11 September 2025 at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.
Session Organizers:
Venere Stefania Sanna, Cristina Capineri, Michela Teobaldi, Giacomo-Maria Salerno, and Francesco Di Grazia (University of Siena)
Citizen Science (CS) is increasingly recognized as a powerful contributor to urban transformation. From mapping air quality to reimagining vacant spaces, CS has moved from the margins to a strategic ally in shaping sustainable, inclusive, and participatory cities.
This session invites critical reflections and empirical contributions on how Citizen Science:
-
engages communities in co-design and urban experimentation,
-
influences evidence-based policymaking and planning,
-
bridges gaps between citizens and public authorities,
-
and navigates challenges around inclusion, equity, and data justice.
📍 Highlights include contributions on:
-
smart engagement in climate-resilient urban planning (Jin-Kyu Jung),
-
new communicative arrangements in CS projects in Belgium and the Netherlands (Tom Paul Goosse),
-
citizen-generated data networks in the Global South (Lalita Kraus),
-
university outreach and epistemic tensions in CS projects (Carolina Pacchi),
-
urban vacancy mapping with CS in small German towns (Jonas Birke),
-
teenage engagement through co-designed apps in Emilia-Romagna (Catia Prandi),
-
gamification in air quality platforms (Razieh Rezabeigisani),
-
and citizen-led water testing and trust-building in Dublin (Adwoa Serwaa Ofori).
Together, these presentations offer a rich and diverse cross-section of how CS is embedded in urban governance, reflecting both its transformative potential and its enduring frictions.
🖼 You can join us for this session at EUGEO 2025 in Vienna, a city known for its ongoing dialogue between digital, ecological, and participatory urbanism.
🔗 For updates, stay tuned to the EUGEO 2025 program: https://www.eugeo2025.eu/eugeo-2025-sessions/
📌 More about the session and abstracts: find panel no. 165 in the program
We look forward to seeing you in Vienna!