How much citizen science does city science need?

Hager, G. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2259-0278, Harwell, T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1437-5236, & Moorthy, I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3664-3855 (2025). How much citizen science does city science need? Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science 52 (9) 2057-2063. 10.1177/23998083251391719.

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Abstract

This guest editorial examines the critical but underutilized role of citizen science in urban analytics and city science. The authors argue that despite a decade of discussion about smart cities and technology-enabled urban planning, citizen science remains inadequately integrated into urban research and governance. Drawing on examples like OpenStreetMap, Map Kibera, and various environmental monitoring initiatives, the paper demonstrates how citizen-generated data is already shaping urban policy and amplifying marginalized voices. The authors present citizen science data's notable urban bias, even in biodiversity monitoring, and identify five priority areas for integration: enabling tech-assisted civic participation, empowering inclusive engagement, building purpose-driven alliances, fostering collaborative sense-making, and integrating citizen data into urban reporting frameworks. Using the EU-funded Urban ReLeaf project as a case study—which has engaged over 3,000 participants across six European cities to collect data on air pollution, heat stress, and green infrastructure—the editorial highlights both successes and persistent challenges in implementation. The authors conclude that city science must work with citizens rather than merely for them, recognizing the fundamental reciprocal relationship between cities and their inhabitants in addressing contemporary urban challenges including climate crisis, technological transformation, and political polarization.

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