In the Amsterdam Smart Citizens Lab we explore the tools and applications to map the world around us. Along with citizens, scientists, and designers, we dealed with themes ranging from air quality to the conditions of bathing water to noise pollution.

When is the best time to take a swim in the canals? Which route is the healthiest to take to work? And what’s the real level of noise pollution in your neighbourhood? These are all examples of questions that could be answered in the Amsterdam Smart Citizens Lab. In each session, we will invite experts to tell us more about the possibilities, impact, and relevance of citizens who take the measurement of local, environmental data into their own hands. 

Knowledge through measuring

With smartphones, smart watches, and wristbands, it’s becoming increasingly simple to collect the data around us. But, open data from the municipality and DIY sensors are also playing a major role in the retrieval of (new) data. Thanks to today's technology, measuring, itself, has become much easier, and can help citizens learn more about their city, town, or neighbourhood. 

Yet, simply measuring the environment around us is not enough. One must also merge and analyse the data to make the most of it. Data can lead to new connections and insights, which means that it will become easier to make our environment healthier and cleaner.

Smart Citizen Kit

In 2014, we experimented with Smart Citizen Kit, an open source device that monitors the environment. The technology was not yet ready at that moment, but that the exchange of experiences helped us understand what the possibilities are of citizen science.

Waag runs the Amsterdam Smart Citizens Lab in cooperation with the City of Amsterdam (CTO), HvA, RIVM, SenseMakers, Alterra, AMS, Amsterdam Economic Board, Fablab Amsterdam and Waag's Open Wetlab. This initiative is internationally supported by Fablab Barcelona, Microgiants, FutureEverything en Dundee University. Supported by the EU Making Sense programme in 2016-2018.

Project duration

1 Feb 2015 - 31 Dec 2018

Links

Publications

Financiers

Partners

  • Amsterdam Smart City
  • TNO
  • RIVM
  • Applicatum

Related articles

Past events

28
Jan
2021
15:00
17:30
Smart Citizens Lab

Launch Responsible Sensing Lab & opening of exhibit 'Senses of Amsterdam'

7
Nov
2019
20:00
22:00
Smart Citizens Lab

Amsterdam Sounds: sound safari in the city

25
Oct
2018
20:00
22:30
Smart Citizens Lab

Premiere documentary: a Citizen Science Revolution

20
Sept
2018
20:00
22:00
Smart Citizens Lab

Workshop measuring water quality

21
Jun
2018
19:00
21:30
Smart Citizens Lab

Amsterdam Sounds: noise in the city

19
Apr
2018
20:00
22:30
Smart Citizens Lab

Amsterdam Smart Citizens Lab: crash course measuring noise

8
Mar
2018
19:30
22:00
Smart Citizens Lab

Smart Citizens Lab: citizen science crash course

20
Dec
2017
19:00
22:00
Smart Citizens Lab

Smart Citizens Lab workshop #3: measuring air quality during fireworks

7
Dec
2017
19:00
21:00
Open Wetlab

Smart Citizens Lab workshop #2: 'phonvert', to ideate alternative usage of old smartphones

30
Nov
2017
19:00
22:00
Open Wetlab

Smart Citizens Lab workshop #1: build your own bicycle USB phone charger

27
Sept
2017
19:00
21:00
Smart Citizens Lab

EBU seminar Smart Cities

24
Sept
2017
25
Sept
2017
Smart Citizens Lab

Workshop 'Citizen Data and Official Statistics'

4
Sept
2017
12:30
15:30
Smart Citizens Lab

Open Landschap | Open Data

24
Aug
2017
10:15
11:30
Smart Citizens Lab

Smart Cities & The Ethics of Things

23
Jun
2017
13:30
Smart Citizens Lab

reSITE 2017: In/visible City

1
Dec
2016
13:00
18:00
Smart Citizens Lab

Smart Citizens in Smarter Cities

7
Sept
2016
11
Sept
2016
Smart Citizens Lab

Ars Electronica Festival 2016

30
May
2016
10:00
12:00
Smart Citizens Lab

Smart Citizen Talks #2: kickstart smart

3
May
2016
19:00
Commons Lab

Tegenlicht meetup Smart Cities

14
Apr
2016
09:00
17:00
Smart Citizens Lab

Innovation Expo

30
Mar
2016
18:30
21:00
Smart Citizens Lab

Urban AirQ kick-off

22
Mar
2016
14:00
Smart Citizens Lab

Stadslab meeting

16
Mar
2016
09:00
16:00
Smart Citizens Lab

Media Architecture Summit in Frankfurt

29
Feb
2016
20:00
Smart Citizens Lab

The choice for a Smart City

17
Feb
2016
17:00
Smart Citizens Lab

Amsterdam iBeacon Living Lab

11
Dec
2015
14:00
22:00
Smart Citizens Lab

City as commons

10
Dec
2015
20:00
22:00
Future Internet Lab

Big, Open & Beautiful #7: Smart citizens

1
Dec
2015
09:00
Smart Citizens Lab

Smart People make Smart, Sustainable Cities

26
Nov
2015
20:00
22:30
Smart Citizens Lab

Workshop Internet of Things (LoRaWan)

7
Oct
2015
18:30
21:15
Smart Citizens Lab

Amsterdam Smart Citizens Lab #6

29
Sept
2015
23:00
Smart Citizens Lab

Smart Solutions For Better Cities

10
Sept
2015
19:00
Smart Citizens Lab

Smart City. In search of the Smart Citizen

9
Sept
2015
18:30
21:15
Smart Citizens Lab

Amsterdam Smart Citizens Lab #5

1
Sept
2015
09:15
16:15
Smart Citizens Lab

Open and Big Data meeting

24
Jun
2015
08:30
17:00
Smart Citizens Lab

Making Sense of Society

10
Jun
2015
18:30
21:15
Smart Citizens Lab

Amsterdam Smart Citizens Lab #4

3
Jun
2015
18:30
21:15
Smart Citizens Lab

Amsterdam Smart Citizens Lab #3

2
Jun
2015
18:00
Future Internet Lab

Hack the City

21
May
2015
18:30
21:15
Smart Citizens Lab

Amsterdam Smart Citizens Lab #2

13
May
2015
19:00
22:15
Smart Citizens Lab

Amsterdam Smart Citizens Lab #1

8
Mar
2015
15:00
Smart Citizens Lab

Jury Toon Hackathon