In a time when cities are striving to become more sustainable, inclusive and climate-neutral, information and knowledge have become some of the most powerful tools for change. These are two crucial elements for well-informed citizens feel aware, empowered, and committed with public policy challenges.
Lisbon Observatories follows the motto “to know so to reduce” and it was born from a simple but transformative idea: that citizens can only act meaningfully if they understand their impact. Data, when presented in accessible and beautiful ways, can bridge the gap between policy and people, turning awareness into empowerment and numbers into narratives.
Only with accessible, comprehensive, and clear data enables the impact monitoring of our behavior - as individuals and as part of a group - in the quality of life and environment we live and, therefore, continue the path towards the transition.
The ‘Lisbon Observatories’ achieve a commitment with communication and information, making available a tool to build awareness and promote citizenship. It is true that "if you can't measure it, you can't improve it." (Peter F. Drucker); but it’s no less true that, despite the fact that we have more data than ever before, we’re still missing accessible, comprehensive, and clear data - in particularly at the local level - to monitor our options and provide knowledge to citizenship.
Lisbon Observatories consists in a web portal (https://observatorios-lisboa.pt), aggregating data from several (cross-cutting and interrelated) sustainability dimensions (energy, water & wastewater, waste, GHG emissions and mobility) of the city.
An important concept associated with this project is displaying information with use of infographics, enhancing the data usefulness and facilitating its comprehension. Additionally, inspired by the Vitruvian Man (celebrated by Leonardo DaVinci), the Observatories present a set of per capita indicators (What each of us consumes, produces, and emits per year).
At its core, the project is both a monitoring tool and a citizenship instrument. It allows municipal authorities and policymakers to track Lisbon’s performance across key sustainability areas (a top-down approach), while simultaneously empowering citizens to understand and influence that performance from the bottom up.
- sustainability
- data
- comprehensive
- empowering
- monitoring
Lisbon Observatories addresses important goals in terms of sustainability:
- Putting together (aggregating) large sets of data from several (cross-cutting and interrelated) sustainability components of the city.
- Promoting public disclosure and city performance evaluation (top-down approach).
- Addressing citizens engaging and empowerment barriers.
Each of these goals contributes directly to Lisbon’s pathway towards climate neutrality, as well as to the broader European ambitions promoted through initiatives such as the UP2030 project.
In terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality the aim was to achieve a differentiated design and experience with information on sustainability. This led to define some important fundamentals: disclosing accessible, beautiful, comprehensive, and clear data will empower us to be conscious about the impact of our options.
To fulfill these challenges, it was necessary to define a simple and coherent aesthetic language for each of the sustainability components (energy and water consumption, waste and wastewater production, and GHG emissions). An animated skyline of the city was designed over which the cycle of each sustainability components was introduced as a layer. This aesthetical approach enables any audience, including citizens (non-specialized) to understand the concepts, help interpretating data and, moreover, generate interest and curiosity about the information (the "sense of belonging").
Since 2012 climate change was included as one of the seven fundamental urban policies, which in turn translated into a set of citywide management measures and guidelines. And the fact is that the more we get to know about integrating sustainability policies in the city, the more we realize the gaps and the need to improve, particularly in terms of citizen involvement and inclusion — a philosophy deeply aligned with the UP2030 vision of enabling local communities to lead the transformation towards climate-neutral and just cities.
Despite this enormous 13 years effort – and probable because of it – the lack of critical mass of the institutions and the low involvement of citizens in the major decisions of the city remains an important barrier that limits sustainability policies effectiveness.
The local solution provided by the Observatories project is completely aligned with the global challenges stated – due to its large scope – in the European Green Deal: cleaner environment, more affordable energy, smarter transport, new jobs and an overall better quality of life. In fact, local data disclosure to build awareness, engagement, and citizens empowerment is all about addressing the fundamental challenge of 'green citizenship'. Lisbon Observatories discloses and enhances data series over 10 years (including per capita indicators) about:
- Energy consumption, by energy form and sector.
- Water consumption, by types of water (including reclaimed water), types of use, by types of consumers, and by parish.
- Wastewater production, by facilities and origin.
- Waste production, by type of urban waste, final destinations, and selective collection and recycling targets monitoring
- GHG emissions, by source, sector, and accounting scope (according to the GPC Standard)
In comparison with mainstream practices, the Lisbon Observatories stands out for its innovation in form and method. It translates complex data into intuitive visual narratives through infographics, ensuring comprehension even for non-specialist audiences. It offers a homogeneous level of data disaggregation across all sustainability dimensions and introduces a unique per-capita perspective that quantifies individual contributions to the city’s footprint. Its aesthetic coherence and accessibility make it not only informative but also engaging — a rare combination in the field of urban data platforms and an evolution perfectly in line with the systemic perspective promoted by UP2030 and the broader European mission for climate-neutral cities.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. This project has received funding from the Horizon Innovation Actions under the grant agreement n° 101096405.