Loop Labs is a non-profit organisation founded by Nicky Gavron in 2013 with the objective of solving urban challenges with the power of communities.

Nicky is the former Deputy Mayor of London, a London-wide Assembly Member and Chair of its Planning Committee.

Leading Londons response to climate change, she introduced policies and programmes to reduce C02 emissions across energy, water, waste and transport. Her initiatives include establishing the London Climate Change Agency and the C40: CITIES Climate Leadership Group.

Increasing urbanisation creates new challenges for cities like London. From transportation and safety to resource management and air quality these challenges aect the lives of everyday citizens. Nicky started Loop Labs to provide Londoners with a greater sense of agency in the design, policy making and management of their city.

Working with digital strategist, Katz Kiely, early in 2014 Loop Labs designed and developed Walk the Talk in partnership with Intel and with funding from the Technology Strategy Board. The project inspired children to design a video game that encouraged a greater awareness of the benefits of walking. This was used together with a mobile tracking app that enabled young players to monitor their families walking.

In 2015 Loop Labs is working with educational theorist, Graham Brown-Martin, who designed the Urban Citizen Science Programme funded by Lambeth Council. The programme is deploying more than 30 air quality sensors and 100 activity trackers amongst homes and families in the London Borough of Lambeth. These devices are being used as part of an ongoing awareness and behavioural

LOOP LABSURBAN CITIZEN SCIENCE PROGRAMME

The AQ sensors and trackers are for the children and their family to keep after use but first they are taken home and the sensors connected to the internet so that they can provide a constant stream of data relating to the air quality around the childs home. The activity trackers are worn by the parents and report daily walking and other health related data directly to the wearers smart phone and the internet. This data is collected daily by the child who can also review it at school over the internet.

Flipping the science lab from the classroom to the home using the Internet of Things means that the children can conduct experiments out of the classroom but can also discuss their findings with their classmates during school time.

By involving parents and carers in the investigation the programme catalyses a conversation and awareness at home as well as in school where the children and their parents are co-learners about air quality. The activity trackers provide an opportunity for the children and the wearers to understand the link between physical activity, well-being and air quality where they discover the benefits of walking over driving, especially for short journeys.

After 4 weeks of experimentation and investigation the children and parents host a community evening where members of the wider community are

invited to participate in an evening of citizen science. Here the children recruit new community members willing to participate in the investigation using the sensors and tracking devices.

The result is that the community becomes more aware of the issues around air quality and walking whilst they own the data and information they are creating and sharing. By installing a significant number of AQ sensors

citizens are able to have meaningful conversations about air quality in the area and consider ways for improvement.

As with other social aspects of the Internet this programme becomes ever more useful the more people who participate. As more AQ sensors are deployed over time the granularity of information improves to a point where identifying AQ trouble spots or cleaner air routes for walking become possible.

We wonder if this understanding will inform future behaviour and decision making at the community level as well as a greater understanding and

engagement with policy making. Here at Loop Labs, we certainly hope so!

Case studyOur programme begins in primary schools with groups of children aged 9-11 years who are invited to participate as citizen scientists recruited to assist a mysterious professor after his grown-up scientists have gone on strike. An initial recruitment meeting is called with the children and their parents/carers where they are issued with their citizen scientist lab coats, air quality sensors and activity

Air quality is a significant problem in urban cities where over 8% of deaths in London for the over-25s are linked. Poor air quality is shown to have a permanent effect on the development of childrens lungs and is responsible for thousands of premature births.

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