Science and citizens go hand in hand, through the sharing of data and analysis, to improve the quality of life, especially as regards the processes of change in urban areas. It is not a utopia, but it is a concrete project, which has already started in an experimental way. The seminar: «Urban risks, social vulnerability and demographic changes. The case of Aversa”.
Speakers Francesco Andreottola, researcher of the National Research Council at the Institute of Mediterranean Studies, and Luigi Guadalupi, economic researcher working at the Cnr-Ismed. Mauro Baldascino, local development agent, introduced and moderated the discussion.
During the seminar, the urban simulation model capable of jointly considering the phenomena of demographic change, social vulnerability and extraordinary meteorological phenomena was officially presented. Considering the case study of the Municipality of Aversa, in the province of Caserta, the temporal and spatial variations of urban risk deriving from different simulation scenarios are calculated and analysed.
In other words, the Digit project, i.e. digitalisation in the urban context, aims, with methodical and rigorous research, to catalyze positive change, increase efficiency and significantly improve the quality of life of citizens. This process allows citizens, who are not necessarily professional scientists, to actively participate in the scientific process, contributing with observations, measurements and even formulating new research questions.
Through citizen science, scientists can leverage citizen participation to collect large amounts of data that would otherwise be difficult or expensive to obtain. «Our mission – declared Gabriella Corona, director of Ismed-Cnr, on the sidelines of the seminar – is to produce science and research by addressing the territory. In particular, studies on the city of Aversa are combined with the policies of local public institutions and with the issues of local government governance. Cities have become increasingly complex and for this reason they produce risks and it is therefore necessary for there to be research capable of building, with data and analysis, scientific indicators useful for improving the lives of citizens”.
