The Project

The ‘Botellon no me deja dormir’ project is a collaborative project co-created by the community of neighbours in Plaça del Sol as part of the project Making Sense EU.

Launch

We gathered neighbours, activists and members of the Barcelona City Council in @Kubik, a co-working space in Gracia, where an introduction on citizen science, and participation, co-creation and innovation is. Then we signed up all the neighbours who wanted to take part.

Scoping

First thing to do was mapping out all the tools at our disposal, from neighbours, windows and technology available to how we wanted to address the problem.

Taking into consideration that noise is a complicated social issue with little right or wrong, we planned the sensing strategy around measuring the noise levels in the most scientifically sound manner.

Mapping our resources

To find out just when and how every participant can contribute.

Unpacking the issue

To find out what the general perception is of when noise happens and who causes it.

Planning the sensing

Where and when to measure, for how long, but more importantly why we’re measuring.

Sensing

Then, comes the sensing. We used the Smart Citizen Kits to capture noise levels in the Plaça del Sol for 30 days, measuing inside and outside, first floor as well as terraces, day and night.

Installing the sensors

Awareness

Once the data was captured, we had to make sense of it. This is where intensive data literacy & visualisation workshops took place, hosted by some of the industry’s leading practicioners.

Expert Lectures

We learned from the Domestic Data Streamers & 300000kms about data visualisation for impact.

Tracing the culture & change

To see our trajectory we have to find where we’ve been coming from, then we can change the future.

Planning the sensing

Where and when to measure, for how long, but more importantly why we’re measuring.

Action

We then designed, developed and built an installation ready for a public assembly. Using the tools at the FabLab Barcelona, and the MakerFaireBCN we created giant totems to represent the neighbours, and to keep them in mind in the early hours of the morning.

More over the public assembly was orchestrated, where all can join the conversation.

Fabrication

And now?

Plaça del Sol, Barcelona
22nd June 2017

We co-created a plan, to bring the conversation back to the Plaça del Sol.

Let’s create awareness, that the noise levels really are bad, and we really don’t sleep well.

However we want everyone to be part of the conversation, if there is empathy maybe there is change.

Join the discussion

Interested in doing something similar?

If you’re interested in citizen science and want to know more about setting up your own sensing campaign, get in touch.

Making Sense is a European project that empowers communities with methods and tools for environmental monitoring, to capture data, make sense of that data and work towards positive change!

Find out more