On 10 January 2024 the first Build4People meeting in 2024 took place to discuss the Build4People Citizen Science App with Clemens Kauschke, representative NXT YOU GmbH. In the course of the next months the company will develop a mobile app based on specifications mainly elaborated by the Build4People Work Package #4 “Urban Green Infrastructures”, Prof Jan Peter Mund and Gulam Mohiuddin from Eberswalde University of Sustainable Development as well from Build4People Work Package #1 “Behavior Change”, Dr. Anke Blöbaum, with support from the Build4People coordination based at Hamburg University, Dr Michael Waibel.
The Build4People Citizen Science App addresses the issue of decreasing green spaces in Phnom Penh due to rapid urbanization. lts primary goal is to understand and assess citizens’ perceptions of urban green spaces and their self-assessed quality of life.
In this way it is part of the UN SDG goal 11.7 which aims to provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities by 2030.
The app will be user-friendly and available for both Android and iOS platforms, allowing users to participate in surveys about their local urban environment.
To complement this, a web-based dashboard will be developed to visualize and analyze the collected survey data. This dashboard will provide insights into public perceptions of urban green infrastructure (UGI) and urban quality of life (UQoL). The collected data will not only serve as a valuable resource for urban planning experts and policymakers but will also empower citizens to actively participate in assessing and improving their city’s green spaces and overall quality of life.
In essence, the Build4People Citizen Science App aims to bridge the gap between citizens and urban planning by facilitating data-driven decision-making, ultimately contributing to the sustainable urban transformation of Phnom Penh capital city.