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Short Abstract

School-based, co-constructive Citizen Science enables youth to actively shape the local mobility transition. Using digital geomedia and sensor tools, students in the “Mobility Transition in Essen” project generate evidence-based insights that inform urban planning and foster their civic engagement.

Abstract

Youth participation in societal decision-making—especially regarding socio-ecological transformations such as the mobility transition—is legally recognized but remains sporadic in practice. Young people, as primary users of bicycles, provide valuable expertise and innovative ideas for shaping sustainable and inclusive mobility solutions. Embedding Citizen Science approaches in schools offers opportunities to empower youth as knowledge co-producers in locally relevant contexts, strengthening their competencies, political self-efficacy, and role as active citizens. The DBU-funded project 'Mobility Transition in Essen' specifically examines how school-based, co-constructive Citizen Science can contribute to inclusive and socially grounded climate services by engaging students in the co-production of evidence-based sustainable and safe urban mobility concepts. Using digital geomedia and sensor-based tools (e.g., the developed senseBox:bike), participating students collected and analyzed data on their daily cycling routes, including traffic information (e.g., overtaking distances, road vibrations) and environmental conditions (e.g., air pollution, temperature). The results provided spatially grounded insights into everyday mobility challenges and local urban climate, which students shared with and discussed alongside policymakers and urban planners to inform and improve mobility transition strategies. The project demonstrates how integrating school-based, data-driven Citizen Science into local decision-making can bridge the gap between citizens—particularly young people—and political actors. By combining experiential knowledge with digital data and scientific methods, students became active contributors to urban transformation, making their perspectives visible in real policy contexts.

Lessons learned from this pilot project include empirically derived success factors for fostering co-production, digital participation, and collaboration across educational and political settings. Moreover, the project shows that such involvement not only supports the development of evidence-based and socially inclusive mobility solutions but also raises awareness and fosters sustained engagement of young people in socio-ecological transformation processes.