BiblioLab Science: Empowering Citizens with Scientific Knowledge About Urban Health

The second edition of BiblioLab Science – Healthy City is now underway, with the goal of getting everyday people involved in science in order to generate healthier city models. This co-creation and community participation project is coordinated by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and supported by the ”la Caixa” Foundation and the Network of Municipal Libraries of Barcelona Province.

“The fundamental objective of this initiative is to raise awareness about the negative effects of air pollution on health and promote actions that get people involved in science in order to improve the environmental quality of urban areas,” commented Raül Toran, Science Outreach Coordinator at ISGlobal and one of the organisers of the project.

Between September and December 2020, BiblioLab Science – Healthy City will organise 24 workshops in municipal public libraries throughout Barcelona province: Vilapicina i la Torre Llobeta Library in Nou Barris (Barcelona), Can Peixauet Library in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Josep Janés Library in Hospitalet de Llobregat, Marc de Cardona Library in Cardona, Joan Triadú Library in Vic and Jordi Rubió i Balaguer Library in Sant Boi de Llobregat.

The project will promote social empowerment through scientific knowledge about issues that affect urban health: active mobility, green spaces, physical activity, air and noise pollution, and their health effects. “This is a living project designed to address the needs and concerns of local groups while fostering a critical spirit to develop healthier towns and cities through community participation,” commented Celia Santos, a member of ISGlobal’s outreach team.

Workshop attendees will receive training in urban health and learn to take measurements of noise and air pollution using Smart Citizen Kits, which contain various sensors for measuring noise and suspended particulate matter. Attendees will also help to generate new ideas and models of sustainable cities and mobility by exploring problems that affect their own neighbourhoods, with the goal of conveying the community’s viewpoints to the municipal government bodies involved in organising the workshops and recruiting participants.

More information

Click here for a list of workshop dates and venues

COVID-19 Prevention Measures

• Workshop participants and facilitators must follow the preventive measures recommended by the health authorities: face mask, hand washing, hand sanitiser and a distance of at least 1.5 metres between people. Participants must bring their own material (except the sensors, which will be disinfected by the ISGlobal team).
• Maximum capacity for each activity: between 10 and 15 people.
• If the epidemiological situation worsens, the activity will be moved online with the same maximum capacity (between 10 and 15 attendees).