Category: Blog

Posters de boas práticas

No âmbito da terceira Conferência Anual ClairCity, foram apresentados posters de cada um dos municípios da CIRA. Os posters mostram as boas práticas de cada município relativas às temáticas da saúde, qualidade do ar e redução de emissões de carbono.

As part of the third ClairCity Annual Conference, we were pleased to present posters from each of the CIRA municipalities. The posters demonstrate the best practices of each municipality on health, air quality and carbon emission reduction issues. If you need a translated version of any of the posters, please contact us.

Workshop ‘Samen werken aan schone lucht in Amsterdam’, 23 januari, 9.30 -12.30 uur, GGD Amsterdam

Wilt u een schonere lucht in Amsterdam en tegelijk een fijnere en betere leefomgeving bij u in de buurt? Heeft u ideeën over hoe dat zou kunnen of moeten?

Dan willen wij u graag uitnodigen voor de bijeenkomst ‘Samen werken aan maatregelen voor schone lucht en een fijnere leefomgeving in Amsterdam’, die wij op 23 januari organiseren in het kader van het Europese luchtkwaliteit onderzoeksproject ClairCity (http://www.claircity.eu).

Vanuit je ervaring als Amsterdammer (geen voorbereiding of specifieke kennis nodig) vragen we om in discussie te gaan over concrete maatregelen voor schone lucht. Hoe streng moeten die maatregelen zijn? En wanneer zouden ze in moeten gaan? Samen met de andere deelnemers maakt u scenario’s voor een fijnere stad.

Met de resultaten uit de bijeenkomst gaan de modelleurs van ClairCity vervolgens aan het rekenen. Ze rekenen uit wat het effect is van de gekozen maatregelen op de luchtkwaliteit in Amsterdam. De scenario’s en hun effecten zullen vervolgens aan beleidsmakers in de stad worden voorgelegd.

Datum:

Woensdag, 23 januari 2019

Tijd:

9:30 – 12:30 (ontvangst 9:15)

Locatie:

GGD, Nieuwe Achtergracht 100, Amsterdam

De workshop is gratis. Inschrijven kan door een mail te sturen naar claircity@trinomics.eu of te bellen naar 010 341 4592). Er is een beperkt aantal beschikbare plaatsen, schrijft u zich daarom zo snel mogelijk in.

Voor de workshop is geen voorbereiding of specifieke kennis nodig. Iedere mening telt mee! Aan het begin van de workshop geven we een korte presentatie over de huidige luchtkwaliteit en het beleid in Amsterdam en leggen we uit hoe we de scenario’s gaan maken.

Kent u meer mensen die geïnteresseerd zijn in een betere luchtkwaliteit en een betere leefomgeving in Amsterdam? Stuurt u dan deze uitnodiging door via email en/of sociale media (het evenement op Facebook vind je via deze link).

Met vriendelijke groet,

Het Amsterdam ClairCity team

Foto: vergelijkbare workshop in Bristol, Engeland

Prijsuitreiking ClairCity filmwedstrijd op GGD hoofdkantoor Amsterdam

Amsterdam, 3 december 2018.

Vanmorgen vond op het hoofdkantoor van de GGD in Amsterdam de prijsuitreiking van de ClairCity filmwedstrijd plaats. Deelnemers Gonny van Oudenallen & Maurits Guépin en Trudy Benavente gingen in gesprek met Fred Woudenberg, hoofd van de afdeling leefomgeving bij de GGD, en het ClairCity Amsterdam team over hoe het beter kan met het luchtkwaliteitsbeleid in Amsterdam. Er werd een levendige discussie gevoerd over de zin en onzin van het nemen van verdere maatregelen.

Hoewel iedereen het er over eens was dat het beter zou zijn als er meer mensen zouden fietsen en wandelen in Amsterdam, werd opgemerkt dat dergelijke veranderingen beslist niet vanzelf gaan en vragen om integraal beleid dat niet alleen vervuilende praktijken beperkt, maar ook actief bijdraagt aan het bieden van alternatieven. Verder deelden de deelnemers nuttige inzichten over hoe ClairCity in de toekomst nog beter burgers kan mobiliseren voor deelname in het project. Aan het eind van de bijeenkomst werd de prijs voor de filmwedstrijd uitgereikt.

De jury heeft de video’s beoordeeld op de volgende aspecten:

  • Het beeld: filmische kwaliteit en originaliteit van het beeld
  • De kwaliteit van de inhoud:geeft de inzender blijk van kennis of bruikbare ideeën over luchtkwaliteit en vervoer in Amsterdam
  • De boodschap:sluit de boodschap van de video aan bij het ClairCity project en de rol van bewoners in Amsterdam

Het resultaat:

Sommige video’s waren vooral sterk op filmisch gebied en blinken uit in beeldkeuze en presentatie. Anderen werden voor de jury juist op inhoudelijk vlak als beter beoordeeld. In enkele gevallen vond de jury de boodschap minder passen bij het project. Omdat dit moeilijk te vergelijken grootheden zijn heeft de jury dus gekozen om alle inzenders tot winnaar uit te roepen. De winnaars waren:

  • Gonny van Oudenallen en Maurits Guepin
  • Trudy Benavente
  • Eveline (wilde i.v.m. privacy niet met achternaam vermeld worden)
  • Fred de Goeij
  • Frits van Moorselaar
  • Henny Verhofstad-Lagrand
  • Guus Smit
  • Christina Lommerse

Oliveira do Bairro vai associar-se à Semana Europeia da Mobilidade

O Município de Oliveira do Bairro vai associar-se à Semana Europeia da Mobilidade promovendo a iniciativa Mix&Move, que contará com um vasto programa de atividades, entre 14 e 22 de setembro, que contará com concertos, “jogos sem fronteiras”, cinema, cicloturismo, o Dia Europeu Sem Carros e a Caminhada Solidária Noturna.

Jorge Pato, Vice-Presidente da Câmara Municipal de Oliveira do Bairro, explicou o conceito da iniciativa: “Aproveitámos o slogan da campanha deste ano da Semana Europeia da Mobilidade para construir uma marca do Município que se perpetue em próximas edições e que comunique a dimensão e a quantidade e variedade de iniciativas que preparámos para esta semana, numa lógica de sensibilização e animação”.

Ainda segundo o autarca, o conceito Mix&Move vai “agregar, sob a chancela da Semana Europeia da Mobilidade, o Dia Europeu Sem Carros, os Jogos Sem Fronteiras, a Festa da Juventude, com os seus concertos, e a Caminhada Solidária Noturna, criando uma dinâmica que junta vários públicos, das crianças aos seniores, em áreas tão diversas como o desporto, a música, a moda, o cinema, e até mesmo a solidariedade e a sensibilização para as causas ambientais.”

Pontos altos da iniciativa serão os “Jogos Sem Fronteiras”, nos dias 14 e 16, a atividade de cicloturismo no dia 16, as atividades dedicadas ao público sénior no dia 18, o desfile de moda promovido pela Associação Comercial e Industrial da Bairrada (ACIB), no dia 21, os concertos de dia 21, com os Wet Bed Gang, e 22, com Mastiksoul, e o Dia Europeu Sem Carros e Caminhada Solidária Noturna, no dia 22 (sábado), evento que tem ganho grande notoriedade a nível não só regional, mas também nacional. As noites de fim de semana serão encerradas por DJs, nos dias 14, 15, 16, 21 e 22.

De destacar ainda as iniciativas promovidas em parceria com a ACIB, que passam por um concurso de montras do comércio local, com a temática da Semana Europeia da Mobilidade 2018 (“Combina, recicla e move-te!”), o alargamento do horário de funcionamento com campanhas de descontos para os seus produtos e a promoção de ementas saudáveis por parte dos estabelecimentos de restauração.

Ainda no âmbito da iniciativa, a Câmara Municipal vai convidar os seus munícipes a decorarem as varandas e janelas das suas casas, sob o tema “Ambiente e Mobilidade”, oferecendo a cada residente no centro da cidade de Oliveira do Bairro um Moinho de Vento, para que seja colocado de forma visível na sua decoração. Será ainda oferecido um balão com uma luz led, para serem colocados nas casas no dia da Caminhada Solidária Noturna (22 de setembro), uma vez que as luzes da cidade estarão apagadas, de forma a potenciar o efeito visual do evento.

À exceção do Dia Europeu Sem Carros, que volta a ter como palco a Av. Dr. Abílio Pereira Pinto, e o ciclo de cinema na Biblioteca Municipal, todas as restantes atividades vão realizar-se na Praça do Município, junto ao edifício da Câmara Municipal, que contará, entre 14 e 22 de setembro, com tasquinhas e animação diária, que passará por atividades desportivas e aulas de ginásio (aeróbica, fitness, Aero Combat, etc) para além dos espetáculos atrás referidos.

As inscrições para o Cicloturismo Mix&Move e Caminhada Solidária Noturna podem ser feitas através do preenchimento de formulários online, disponíveis através dos seguintes links http://bit.ly/2LbSUnD e http://bit.ly/2nJwKQo.

Sobre a Semana Europeia da Mobilidade

A Semana Europeia da Mobilidade, que vai já na 17.ª edição, realiza-se anualmente entre os dias 16 e 22 de setembro e faz parte do calendário de eventos e atividades não só do Município de Oliveira do Bairro, mas também de muitas cidades e vilas de toda a Europa e também já de outros continentes. Em Portugal, que participa na iniciativa europeia desde a primeira hora, tem-se vindo a gerar um grande movimento de adesão, não só por parte do público, como através de um número crescente de parceiros que colaboram ativamente com as autarquias envolvidas.

A edição deste ano tem como slogan “Combina e Move-te!”, inspirado no tema da multimodalidade, que aproveita as vantagens específicas de cada modo de transporte como uma mais-valia e que, em combinação entre si, podem oferecer soluções de transporte mais eficientes.

Fonte: https://www.cm-olb.pt/PageGen.aspx?WMCM_PaginaId=29859&pastaNoticiasId=29856&noticiaId=48656

Clean air for animals too

We are using our blog to share stories and news from our ClairCity Associates. To start us off, here is the perspective of Bristol Zoo Gardens from Elinor Kershaw, their Sustainability Coordinator.

At Bristol Zoo Gardens, a conservation and education charity as well as an outdoor visitor attraction, the news that Bristol’s air quality was so poor was a real concern to us. We have responsibility for the welfare of hundreds of animals, many of whom live outside, as well as thousands of visitors each year. If air quality continues to deteriorate in the developed world, it is possible to envisage a time when spending your free time at an outdoor space would be neither pleasant nor safe. Joining ClairCity seemed like a good opportunity to be part of the discussion and advocating for the needs of clean, safe recreation spaces and animal welfare.

We work closely with both universities in the city on a huge range of projects. This year, as well as getting involved with ClairCity via UWE Bristol, we worked with the University of Bristol on student environmental monitoring projects looking at how the air quality at our site compared to the wider city. Bristol Zoo Gardens is more than 180 years old and is a walled site which has been managed as a green space with trees and all manner of plants for all of that time. We hoped that our walls and vegetation would be contributing positively to the air quality in our site, however as an ‘island’ with less air movement it could also have been trapping pollution which settled into the site.

The students compared pollution levels inside our site with the road outside, as well as with a local rural location and a busy city-centre street. We were pleased to find that the pollution levels inside were consistently lower than outside, especially seeing as at times the local street had higher levels of air pollution than the city centre.

We also recognise that we are contributing in part to that local pollution as many of our guests arrive by car. We already offer discounted entry to guests using sustainable transport options (public transport, cycling, park & ride) and a frequent bus comes to the site from the mainline rail station via the city centre. We hope that ongoing improvements to local bus infrastructure will make it easier for guests to make their whole journey by public transport, meeting that reliable service at a local interchange stop with their bus to and from home.

Improving air quality is vital for general health and to enable outdoor activities for mental and physical wellbeing. For our native species, and for globally endangered species we need to take responsibility for the pollution we release into the air – it’s their air too!

Clean Air walking tips

As part of Bristol Walking Festival 2018, the ClairCity team put on our trainers and took a short but informative walk around central Bristol. Air Quality Officer Andrew Edwards from Bristol City Council led the walk, showing attendees how the council monitor the air, the issues facing the city and some tips on how to avoid and reduce the air pollution themselves.

For a downloadable flyer version of the information, please see our Resources page.

  • Use the car less when you can, especially if you drive a diesel

    • You are still exposed to air pollution even if you are inside a car, so being in traffic is not safe.
    • 40% of pollution (nitrogen dioxide) in Bristol’s city centre is from diesel cars.

  • Increase your distance from traffic wherever possible

    • Walk along the section of the pavement furthest from vehicles. Even an increase of 1 metre can help.
    • Choose side roads rather than the main road when you have the option.

  • Avoid busy roads

    • When you have the option, always try to walk upwind of the pollution from vehicles
    • If possible avoid busy roads at peak times e.g. during the rush hours when traffic and pollution levels are generally higher

  • If you are particularly sensitive to pollution (e.g. heart condition, severe asthma etc) watch out for alerts on BBC weather forecasts.

    • For most people, it will still be better to use active travel and get some exercise (e.g. walking or cycling) on higher pollution days.
    • By not using the car you are reducing the overall amount of pollution, and exercise has many benefits for our physical and mental health.

Local MP enjoys ClairCity game

Our ClairCity Skylines game is hitting the news and generating local interest across the city. Last week, Thangam Debbonaire MP (Bristol West) got to enjoy the game as part of the “Creative Reactions” exhibition in Hamilton House, Bristol.

Thangam has been raising issues of air quality in her constituency, and was keen to see new ways to get more people to engage with the issue and understand the challenges – and opportunities – that tackling air pollution can bring.

Within the exhibition there is also a piece inspired by the ClairCity project, made by local artist Laura Howarth. We talked to Laura about the health impacts of air pollution, especially on hearts and lungs. Her final pieces for the exhibition were references to the damage done to lung tissue from diesel emissions. All of the work in the exhibition is inspired by cutting edge research taking place in Bristol, interpreted through the work of over 30 local artists. Creative Reactions is on show until 22nd May 2018 as part of the Pint of Science festival.

You can download and play ClairCity Skylines yourself from bit.ly/PlayBristol

See the press release for this event here.

Mayor of Bristol promotes ClairCity Skylines

The ClairCity Skylines team with Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees

As part of the launch of ClairCity Skylines, the free game available for download on Android and iOS devices from ClairCity, Bristol’s Mayor Marvin Rees was one of the first players of the game. Alongside UWE Bristol students, he attended the game launch event in The Foundry space at UWE Bristol to test the game and talk with journalists.

Mayor Marvin Rees plays ClairCity Skylines with UWE students

Marvin said: “The ClairCity project’s new game is an exciting and different way of getting people involved in the conversation about air quality. This is a massive issue facing Bristol with our residents and visitors at risk from unacceptable levels of pollution.

“We are working hard to tackle the issue but we need everyone to work together and be aware of what we can all do to contribute to making a positive change. As well as being entertaining, this game will also provide us with an alternative insight into what people might like to see happening in our city to make it a healthier place.”

If you want to try the game, go to our ClairCity Skylines page and download it for free.

ClairCity Skylines launches for Bristol

A new game has been launched, and it’s all about Bristol. The ClairCity Skylines game from the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) and Bristol City Council, enables people in the city to shape how they want their city to look in the future. By making decisions in the ClairCity Skylines game, players also provide data that can help authorities solve real world problems, such as air pollution, in the city.

The free app, available for Android and iOS devices, involves visiting famous sights in the city and making decisions about how Bristol should look in the next 50 years.

Within the game, players are asked to make choices about the city, such as whether more roads should be built, if wood and coal heating in homes should be allowed, and whether more parks and green spaces should be created. The decisions they make are scored as they impact on the city’s economy and its air pollution, as well as residents’ health and happiness.

Enda Hayes, Technical Director on ClairCity and Professor of Air Quality & Carbon Management at UWE Bristol, said: “There are approximately 300 deaths a year linked to air pollution in Bristol City Council’s own figures. Our game is an innovative way to be part of a serious solution.”

The parent project, ClairCity, is an EU funded scheme looking at ways to improve wellbeing, reduce air pollution and limit carbon emissions in six cities and regions across Europe. UWE Bristol and Bristol City Council are two of the 16 partners involved in the project.

The launch of the game coincides with the beginning of a six month engagement period by Bristol City Council, which will involve speaking to local people, businesses and organisations to inform the upcoming Clean Air Plan.

Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees said: “The ClairCity project’s new game is an exciting and different way of getting people involved in the conversation about air quality. This is a massive issue facing Bristol with our residents and visitors at risk from unacceptable levels of pollution.

“We are working hard to tackle the issue but we need everyone to work together and be aware of what we can all do to contribute to making a positive change. As well as being entertaining, this game will also provide us with an alternative insight into what people might like to see happening in our city to make it a healthier place.”

UWE Bristol academics developed ClairCity Skylines at PlayWest, a games studio based at the University that works with industry partners to apply games technology to real world problems.Andy King, leading the game design for ClairCity Skylines andAssociate Professor – Technology & Innovation at UWE Bristol, said: “We know that computer games by themselves won’t save the world, but they offer an exciting, engaging way to get lots of people involved in finding solutions for some of the problems we face around air pollution and city development.”

Bristol is the first of the cities and regions to be gamified within ClairCity. Five other areas around Europe will also get their own bespoke game to play, so that the project can map the different choices that residents make and quantify the impact those choices would have on each region.

For more information or to download the game, go to: ClairCity Skylines

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 689289.