Welcome to ClairCity
In 2015 , the project consortium of 16 partners across ten European countries proposed ClairCity to the European Union . We were responding to their Horizon 2020 call seeking to improve air quality and reduce the carbon footprint of European cities . Urban air pollution has been a huge challenge for local and national authorities for many years . One in eight deaths around the world is associated with air pollution , and the World Health Organisation estimate that globally , 92 % of urban dwellers live with harmfully high air pollution . At the same time , we are faced with the global problem of climate change , which will affect our way of life in ways we are only just starting to understand .
Citizens as leaders in our cities
ClairCity is focused on our six partner cities , but by the end of the project we will have a toolkit including models that can be applied to any European city with over 50,000 residents and a process that can be applied to meet the needs of other cities around the world . Our partner cities - Amsterdam ( The Netherlands ), Aveiro region ( Portugal ), Bristol ( UK ), Genoa / Liguria ( Italy ), Ljubljana ( Slovenia ) and Sosnowiec ( Poland ) - represent a diverse set of experiences and challenges . They are not
just “ living laboratories ” for our plans . Each city is also a member of our project consortium , giving their input into the development of the project . By partnering with city and regional authorities we think that ClairCity can become a more useful tool for other local
authorities too .
Models and engagement
Our project includes complex data modelling to understand the sources and hotspots in each city . Crucially , we also include citizen engagement within the development of each city package . Through an app , a game , schools ’ competition , citizen surveys , workshops , live events and online interactions , we are developing a suite of materials that can help all kinds of cities to interact effectively with their residents around the issues of air pollution , health and carbon emissions .
Our future with clean air
We know that to work best , interventions need citizen support and buy-in . By raising awareness of the problem of air pollution and the undeniable health impacts it has on all city residents , we want a more informed population to
understand and support action to tackle the problems in their cities . Our tools will help citizens to take control of the balance between protecting citizen health , reducing our contribution to climate change , and solving traffic or other problems facing the city . It will give them the power to decide what they think should happen .
The ClairCity team have been working hard since May 2016 , with our first public events starting in Summer 2017 . To keep in touch , you can follow us through our website www . claircity . eu and we are also on Twitter and Facebook .
Hans Bolscher , Project Director
Enda Hayes , Technical Director
ClairCity team , 2016 .
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