Citizen observatory for mobility: a conceptual framework

Citizen observatories that incorporate participatory sensing can complement traditional and automated data collection methods for mobility planning and increase the level of participation of citizens in transport planning. The process of developing such an online environment is not only time-consuming and costly, but it would also require an extensive knowledge of computer programming. This is one of the main barriers to the proliferation of citizen observatories. Therefore, this paper develops a conceptual framework of a citizen observatory platform that does not require special skills or resources. It would enable the collection, analysis and exchange of quantitative and qualitative mobility-related data by citizens. We have reviewed 69 participatory sensing applications in the field of mobility to derive the essential building stones of such an observatory. We identified the requirements considering eight criteria: campaign management, objective, context, data types, sensing technology, motivation of data collectors, validation and representativeness, visualisation and reporting. Some concerns regarding representativeness of data, motivation of data collectors, accuracy of sensors and validated algorithms for indicators are also raised.