Slides from ’Communities surviving, striving, thriving? A day of dialogue and action’ - the community development conference at Goldsmiths, University of London 20-2-14 http://www.gold.ac.uk/community-engagement-research/communitydevelopmentconference/

1. workshop - community development conference 20th feb 2014
zooniverse
(https://www.zooniverse.org/)
citizen sensing
“citizen sensing projects democratize the collection and use of environmental sensor data to facilitate expanded
citizen engagement in environmental issues”
smartphones
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https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/2840740?hl=en
Microphone
Accelerometer
Compass
Ambient light
Barometer
Gyroscope
GPS
pepys: noise
Figure 1: pepys-noise-map
• muki haklay, UCL, mapping for change
• (https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/4782-Scientists-and-citizens)
• “As a result of the citizen-generated data, which showed that the operation violated noise limits, the UK
Environment Agency revoked the scrapyard’s licence.”
• acoustic consultant. . .
pepys: air quality
• (https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/4782-Scientists-and-citizens)
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2. • (http://www.mappingforchange.org.uk/portfolio/pepys-air-quality/)
• 2m limit
• nvq
kite mapping
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VIDEO
crowdfunding
hacked camera
community incomes
100x better resolution
public lab: spectrometer
Figure 2: test
• http://store.publiclab.org/products/smartphone-spectrometer
• http://spectralworkbench.org/
• http://publiclab.org/wiki/refinery-watching
civic science
" The ability to test the coherence of ideas about the world is no longer limited by technical barriers to recording,
validating, analyzing or sharing data"
“Many ‘citizen science’ projects give non-experts only token opportunities to participate in the process of scientific
inquiry — typically performing data collection and record-keeping for someone else’s research.”
In civic science “members of a community are involved in every step of the process, from framing research questions
to innovating new research tools to gathering and interpreting data using open-source software.”
“Experts and other participants learn together — and from each other — all along the way. Participants are never
‘trained’ to ‘do science.’ Instead, they are invited to find their own latent capacity to ask meaningful and relevant
questions about the places they call home and to leverage their innate rich understanding of local processes and
priorities.”
aircasting
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VIDEO
(http://aircasting.org/)
health
LEDs
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3. Figure 3: aircasting
bucket brigades
" Global Community Monitor, founded in 2001, trains and supports communities in the use of environmental monitoring tools to understand the impact of fossil fuel industry pollution on their health and the
environment. GCM’s work focuses on disempowered “fenceline” communities harmed by serious air pollution from industrial sources and whose concerns agencies and responsible corporations are ignoring." *
(http://www.gcmonitor.org) * (http://www.thesewardphoenixlog.com/story/2012/03/29/local/citizens-to-test-theair-in-seward/032920121533683522343.html) * PM10. windy days. * nyc benzene arrest
“Empower citizens throughout Central Appalachia to monitor their local public streams and rivers in the vicinity
of coal mines for pollution.” “Hold coal companies accountable for the pollution they create.” * (http://www.aceproject.org/program-objectives/)
safecast
• VIDEO
• (http://blog.safecast.org/)
• “no cause for alarm”
questions?
science?
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data quality - science!
qualitative data - biomapping
data reflection
meaning
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4. exercise = sicamp
• (http://www.sicamp.org/)
sensors
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noise
air quality
particulates
radiation
traffic
vibration (seismology)
GPS + photos + observations
sharing
• hackerspaces (https://london.hackspace.org.uk/)
• xively (https://xively.com/whats_xively/)
rapid prototyping e.g. floodhack
• (http://www.nominettrust.org.uk/knowledge-centre/blogs/floodhack)
• data.. but peer-to-peer
• dog walkers to spot flood defence breaches
citizen science <-> community development
• smart measurement as counter-power
• the seduction of data & tech. . .
brainstorm
• problem? (something you really care about. . . )
• measurement? data? (evidence)
• sensors? (different types?)
develop
1. what do you want to test? (hypothesis). legal limit? correlation? if so, what other data?
2. what do you need? tech? which sensors? help making? someone who knows statistics? how many sensors?
cost?
3. participation? existing groups? incentives? skill development?
4. impact? journalism. legal case. local council. DIY solution?
thanks
@danmcquillan
d.mcquillan@gold.ac.uk
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