Experiments

Activities will focus on the co-creation, co-implementation and monitoring of solutions to tackle the environmental areas specifically addressed by the living lab (air pollution, sustainable transport), favouring in turn climate adaptation. We believe that information and increased awareness about pollutant exposure in different travel-related micro environments could influence citizens towards more eco-friendly mobility lifestyles. We aim to co-design and implement effective solutions supported with evidences generated from data collection using a range of sensors (low-cost air quality sensors, meteorological sensors and web-based crowd sourcing platforms). The dissemination of scientific knowledge (especially impacts of solutions) generated based on the living lab activities provides multiple benefits which are then used to up-scale solutions on a city and regional level.

Background

Limburg province in Belgium (of which Hasselt is the capital city) has a unique spatial context that is characterized by skewed and highly dispersed built-up areas. This causes travelling in this region highly dependent on flexible and faster means of transport such as motorized vehicles. Additionally, the public transport is difficult to organize in the region in a cost-effective manner. This also causes an increase in the levels of traffic related emissions and pollutants in key activity locations (such as schools, inner city shopping streets etc). This situation is challenging, and requires concentrated efforts to promote sustainable means of personal travel. Hasselt living lab (as a part of the Transportation Research Institute) is established with a view point to address this problem as it provides a test-bed for co-developing solutions that promote eco-friendly mobility lifestyles. With wide expertise in the field of transportation, a range of tools are developed that help in co-creating solutions and test future policy scenarios