With rising global temperatures and prolonged droughts, Amsterdam is increasingly feeling the heat – literally. The city faces mounting summer challenges, from the urban heat island effect to overheating homes – a trend that is expected to exacerbate in the years to come. The I-CHANGE Project is turning to citizen science to decode these pressing problems and chart a path toward a cooler and more resilient life in the city.
In the short documentary film about the I-CHANGE Amsterdam Living Lab “Amsterdam Living Lab: Citizen Science on Indoor Heat”, two meteorologists take to the city’s streets and homes by bike, revealing how urban heat impacts everyday life. Speaking with stakeholders and residents of Amsterdam, the film underscores the power of collaboration between Amsterdam’s citizens and researchers to understand – and respond to – the effects of climate change at a local level.
Citizen Science: What it takes to understand heat inside homes
The citizen science approach of the I-CHANGE Project empowers ordinary people to contribute valuable data, share insights, and participate in shaping solutions. For the I-CHANGE Project in Amsterdam, a network of 100 citizens with installed weather stations at home have been enabled to track temperature and humidity levels, observe patterns and identify solutions against the heat.
“An important part of changing our behaviour is awareness” says Gerben Mol, Program Developer Climate Resilient Cities at AMS Institute. “In the I-CHANGE Project, people get to know what happens in their homes during a heat wave. […] This type of awareness is crucial to get meaningful behavioural change that people are really living – not because someone else says it, but because they understand”.