The Air Quality Lens: Ambiguity as Opportunity to Reactivate Environmental Data

Abstract

The use of low-cost sensors to collect environmental data can enable citizens to express environmental concerns and foster community building and activism. However, when made public, citizen data is often detached from the subjective experiences integral to citizen sensing. Our work with youngsters from diverse backgrounds explores how existing environmental datasets can be reactivated to engage new stakeholders and discussions. We present a research through design project with air quality data and draw attention to the role of ambiguity in our design process. We synthesize our reflections by discussing three design aspects that can make sense of ambiguity and encourage critical engagements with environmental data. Our goal is to offer a design-oriented account of how citizen-generated environmental data can be reactivated to express matters of concern.