WeCount European project run through UCD aims to help tackle traffic related issues in the local community.
Cities currently account for only 1% of the earth’s surface. However, they also account for half of the world’s population, 67% of the global primary energy demand, and 71% of the global energy-related CO2 emissions. Obtaining reliable and updated traffic data is fundamental to understanding the complex links between our urban infrastructure, transport systems and the livability in urban areas. Traffic counts help authorities and scientists make sense of urban mobility and are instrumental to assess its impacts and consequently improve planning.
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. You can find more details here: https://www.we-count.
We are asking you to host one of our sensors to monitor traffic and place it at your window with a clear view of the road outside. The sensor will count cars, bikes, pedestrians and heavy vehicles and it will help us to understand traffic in your area:
We will also monitor local air pollution to establish a direct link between traffic and local pollution and build a stronger argument towards sustainability.
We will run online and/or face-to-face community workshops in September with the aim to deploy the sensors from October.
If your community would like to participate contact Francesco Pilla (Associate Professor in Smart Cities & Urban Environment at UCD) to find out more: