News

Diving into the habits and effects of wood burning in Kristiansand (Norway)

The European Environment Agency warns of the effects of wood-burning due to its significant contribution to air pollution. Its association to cozy, warm, and welcoming environments opposes its harmful effects on human health. Proven to be the biggest source of outdoor fine particles that cause approximately 400,000 premature deaths in Europe every year and is responsible for serious diseases of millions of Europeans, the concern and controversy surround policy recommendations and regulations that tackle the impact of wood burning (European Environment Agency, Air Quality in Europe report).

Following our project ideal of collaboratively planning healthier cities, Kristiansand Kommune has launched an online survey that not only dives into citizens’ visions, habits, and practices around wood-burning but also invites them to step into urban planners’ shoes to distribute public funding and imagine measures to address this environmental topic.

The survey will be open during the winter season 2020/2021 in order to collect impressions, ideas, and habits of local citizens that will serve as a baseline for further co-creational activities for policy making around this urgent topic. Send your submissions here (available both in English and Norwegian). In NordicPATH we are looking forward to seeing the results and evolution of this initiative. Stay tuned!

Join our Kristiansand Urban Lab!

Påmelding til Kristiansand Urban Lab – Dugnad for en bedre by er nå åpen

Du kan nå registrere deg som deltaker i Kristiansand Urban Lab for å forme byens framtid. Gå inn på denne lenken (norsk) der du finner ytterligere informasjon samt påmeldingsskjema. Bli med på dugnaden for en bedre by!

Photo: Anders Martinsen

You can now register as a participant for the Kristiansand Urban Lab. At this link (English) you will find additional information and the registration form. Join the activities in Kristiansand today!

NordicPATH takes part in the Citizen Science SDG conference

We are happy to announce our presence at the Citizen Science SDG Conference!

Next 14th – 15th October 2020, our project will be presented at the Knowledge for Change: A decade of Citizen Science (2020-2030) in support of the SDGs.

In a hybrid format in Berlin and online, the conference will present, evaluate and discuss the exciting contributions that citizen science makes in framing and achieving sustainable development, with a specific focus on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Policy makers, institutional and citizen scientists, economists, NGOs and civil society will bring and share their expertise to implement mechanisms and processes for the transition towards a more sustainable future, addressing topics around citizen science such as:

  • Citizen science for the UN Sustainable Development Goals, e.g. good health and well-being, quality education, life on land and below water
  • Policy and scientific methodology of citizen science to implement the SDGs
  • Scientific benefit of citizen science networks and platforms and their impact on society

Due to the evident common ground existing between the conference frame and our project’s goals and approach, we are looking forward to sharing our knowledge, learn and get inspired by the participants at the conference

You can read more about the program here: https://www.cs-sdg-conference.berlin/en/

Press: the co-relation between low-cost air quality sensors and citizen empowerment in pollution fight

Some weeks ago, the multimedia information platform Vox Media’s The Verge contacted our project leader and senior researcher Nuria Castell for a science article on the role cheap air-quality sensors are transforming the pollution-fight scenario. Together with other experts in the field, she highlights the potential of a crowd of individuals monitoring air data particles that can cover a considerable extension of land, opposite to the high-accuracy sensors, which are more expensive and difficult to access.

As explained in the article, the combination and contrast of information between the two sources are not only enriching the amount of information that is available for scientists to study air pollution, but also providing citizens with tools to face regulatory bodies and decision-makers when it comes to urban planning that affects their health and well-being.  

This reasoning positively aligns with our project goals and vision. In NordicPATH, we aim to create a strong network of fixed high-quality sensors and low-cost sensors that provide us with substantial Air Quality data to inspire and ground the actions of our participatory urban planning labs to create healthier, smart, and sustainable cities.

You can read the article here.

NordicPATH kick-off

The official NordicPATH kick-off event took place on 20./21. April 2020. Due to travel restcrictions and home office for most participants, due to covid-19, the meeting has been held electronically. Finally, the team met altogether and the work can start!

NordForsk kick-off

On 4./5. March 2020, NordForsk arranged a kick-off event for all projects that were granted under the call on Sustainable Urban Development and Smart Cities. The event has been held in Lund, Sweden.