WeCount – Citizen Observations of UrbaN Transport

WeCount is a two year project (2019-2021) working directly with citizens in five countries across Europe. The Science Communication Unit at UWE Bristol is leading the Monitoring and Evaluation Work Package on behalf of the project.　

WeCount aims to empower citizens to take a leading role in the production of data, evidence and knowledge around mobility in their own neighbourhoods, and at street level. The project will follow 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 several European cities.

A number of low-cost, automated, road traffic counting sensors (Telraams) will be mounted on each participating household’s window facing a road, which will allow authorities to determine the number and speeds of cars, large vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians. Furthermore, it will generate scientific knowledge in the field of mobility and environmental pollution and encourage the development of co-designed, informed solutions to tackle a variety of road transport challenges.

Five pilots cities are involved: Madrid in Spain, Ljubljana in Slovenia, Dublin in Ireland, Cardiff in the UK and Leuven in Belgium.

WeCount intends to establish a multi-stakeholder engagement mechanism to gather data in these five pilot cities. Data will then be used to formulate informed solutions to tackle a variety of road transport challenges, thus improving quality of life at the neighborhood level. WeCount aims to break down technological and societal silos, by putting citizens at the heart of the innovation process. The project is the perfect vehicle to not only generate data but also promote and support citizen advocacy to work towards cleaner and healthier cities.

WeCount operates under the Research and Innovation Actions funding scheme, as facilitated by Horizon 2020 and the ‘Science with and for Society’ programme. WeCount will run until November 2021 and has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 872743.

SCU staff on the project include Dr Margarida Sardo (WP Leader, Monitoring and Evaluation), Sophie Laggan (Monitoring and Evaluation) and Dr Laura Fogg-Rogers (Ethics).