COMMUNICATING AIR QUALITY IN URBAN AREAS

The role of Urban Agencies in stimulating behavioural changes among citizens and spreading best practices to increase air quality

Since May 2018 Bologna has implemented the AirLab, a participatory process coordinated by the Foundation for Urban Innovation aiming to enhance the engagement of citizens in improving air quality by a clear change of habits and daily actions.

Starting from this experience, the workshop will stimulate the participants to reflect upon a simple question: if air quality changes every day, requiring us to adapt our actions and habits, how could we effectively communicate the urgence to act while involving citizens, associations, and institutions in the process?

The participants will be requested to analyse the role of Urban Agencies in communicating the urgence to act for increasing urban air quality, while trying to highlight both limits and the negative effects of the widespread interaction difficulties between administrations and institutions responsible tomonitor and communicate datas on air quality.

The main output will be a benchmarking analysis explaining sinergies, limits and points of strength of a co-projected campaign on urban air quality.

• organising institution: Fondazione per l'Innovazione Urbana Bologna
• tutors: Umberto Mezzacapo, Sociological research & environmental communication; Valeria Barbi, EU projects coordinator and climate change expert

The workshop is part of "EUROPEAN CITY AGENCIES NETWORK A DISCUSSION ON CITIZENSHIP AND THE SPATIAL PLANNING PROCESS", the final conference of EUCANET - European Agencies Network for citizenship, inclusion, involvement and empowerment of communities through the urban transformation process. EUCANET is co-funded by the Europe for Citizens Programme of the European Union