As hackAIR is a community-driven solution, its participatory approach started by designing the requirements for the hackAIR platform in collaboration with users and in line with technical possibilities. At the same time, workshops with users and research into successful engagement strategies have helped the consortium in designing the user interface and preparing behaviour change recommendations that are provided through the platform. In addition, outreach to interested parties and related projects built a strong network of stakeholders to assist with interoperability between projects, including a newly established air quality working group of the European Citizen Science Association.
Pilot projects in Germany and Norway contributed with a series of workshops and citizen engagement activities to raise local awareness on air quality issues and mobilise health-conscious communities. hackAIR also participated in a number of hackathons and summer schools, while the hackAIR platform continues to provide a customisable web application for local air quality information and a mobile app that citizens can use to access air quality information and contribute with measurements. Air quality data can be also accessed using an open API, and the full datasets of measurements are available as open data. Source code and hardware designs are available for download under an open license and incorporate dozens of community suggestions and improvements.
Launched in early 2018, the hackAIR platform has engaged thousands of Europeans, and not only, to map their neighbourhoods’ air quality by taking pictures of the sky, provide their own measurements through open hardware sensors and see how air quality changes over time. More than 800 citizens across Europe started measuring particulate matter in their neighbourhoods using one of the hackAIR open hardware designs, while about 1.500 people helped in air pollution estimation by uploading sky photos to the hackAIR mobile app. Individual citizens have used the information to avoid polluting behaviour, reduce their exposure to air pollution and participate in the public discourse on improving air quality based on the collected data. Scientists and policy makers have used the resulting air quality data to gain insights on air quality patterns and inform public policy.
