I-CHANGE Day in Genoa Living Lab: Temperature and water resources and climate change in the neighborhood

I-CHANGE Day is an initiative aiming at increasing citizens understanding on temperature and water resources and climate change in their neighborhood. This in-person activity will take place in the afternoon of June 5, 2024, which is the World Environment Day.  The citizen science initiative involves participants in the I-CHANGE project and let them explore the latest impacts of climate change in the city, with a focus on extreme weather, such as floods, droughts and extreme temperatures.

During the activity, we will share experiences about daily life in the neighborhood or district of Genoa, paying special attention to the various uses of public spaces and how they are connected to extreme temperatures and water resources. Have you ever thought about how we use these spaces when running errands or meeting friends?

We will organize small groups and embark on journeys through some of the most meaningful places in our community. Armed with MeteoTrackers, a citizen science sensor for collecting meteorological data on the move, we will record data along the way, and afterwards come together to visualize, understand, and contextualize them. The workshop will conclude with a debate session where we will compare preconceptions and perceptions of the visited spaces before and after the journey, discussing how the group felt throughout.

The main objectives of this event include evaluating individual temperature perception, understanding the role of humidity in the city, and collecting high-resolution data in different locations to identify risk areas and safe routes. Additionally, it will help identify the most relevant places for neighbors and their uses, some of which are related to water resources and extremes.

This will aid in promoting mitigation and adaptation measures, as well as behavioral changes. A climate change expert will introduce the activity, highlighting the local impacts of climate change, and how small changes in our daily lives can contribute to mitigation and increase our resilience, paving the way towards a better and more sustainable future.

The event is organized in each of the eight Living Lab of the I-CHANGE project, (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bologna, Dublin, Hasselt, Genova, Jerusalem, and Ouagadougou) that are conducting various activities to raise awareness about climate change impacts and promote behavioral change.