The city of Stockholm, Sweden is developing a project called CitizAir that will visualize – in real time – the levels of air pollution in the city. The goal of the project is to enable residents to better plan their routes when biking or walking. The project started at the end of 2021, and is expected to be fully functional in 2024. Everything that CitizAir develops will be published openly and be accessible and usable worldwide.
“Stockholmers can make informed decisions about which road to take or which mode of transport they should choose. In the long run, they will also be better equipped to be able to discuss and themselves influence decisions and policies concerning the environment,” said Mario Romero, associate professor at KTH and project manager for CitizAir.
The interactive augmented reality tool will connect current air data and information screens in the urban environment with an app in Stockholmers’ mobile phones.
“The visualizations will be developed together with the people of Stockholm so that we start from their interests and needs. The purpose is to engage and involve those of us who live and stay in the city in our immediate environment,” explained Maria Hagardt, project manager at Vetenskap & Allmänhet, one of the project partners.
Another project partner, SLB-analys, is a unit within the City of Stockholm’s Environmental Department that monitors the air and noise environment. Their open data will be made more accessible through the project.
“The levels of air pollution vary a lot in Stockholm, both in terms of geography and over time. Therefore, it can be very interesting for citizens as well as politicians to have access to this data in an interactive manner,” said Dr. Magnuz Engardt at SLB-analys.