Citizen Science Approaches to Promote Active Living

Citizen science approaches mobilise lay participants to gather, analyse and act upon data with the aim of making environments more conducive to physical activity. These participatory models range from mobile-enabled community audits of walking paths and public spaces to structured observation protocols of parks and play streets. Methods such as resident-led mapping, co-design workshops and ecological momentary assessments empower citizens to identify barriers and facilitators to active travel, recreational play and safe routes to school. By integrating local knowledge with real-time data capture, these initiatives can drive place-based interventions and policy changes to enhance walkability, park quality and street safety. Digital platforms and mHealth tools further extend reach, allowing older adults and urban caregivers to contribute insights via smartphones and wearable sensors. Evaluations of citizen science projects have demonstrated improvements in shared decision-making, social cohesion and sustained behaviour change across diverse settings from low-income urban neighbourhoods to rural communities around the globe.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Citizen Science Approaches to Promote Active Living publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in citizen science approaches to promote active living across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Citizen Science: A participatory research approach in which non-professional volunteers collaborate with scientists to collect, analyse and apply data for community benefit.
Our Voice method: A structured citizen science framework that uses mobile technology and group facilitation to guide participants through data collection, prioritisation and advocacy for environmental or policy change.
Ecological Momentary Assessment: Real-time data capture technique where participants report contextual information, such as location or mood, at multiple points during daily life, often via mobile devices.

References

1. Urban Care for Unpaid Caregivers: Community Voices in the Care Block Program, in Bogotá, Colombia. Journal of Urban Health (2024).
2. A Sustainable mHealth Intervention to Promote Physical Activity for Healthy Aging: A Pilot Study of the “Every Walk You Take” Citizen Science Initiative. Sustainability (2024).
3. Our Voice in a rural community: empowering Colombian adolescents to advocate for school community well-being through citizen science. BMC Public Health (2022).