Particles Matter

Abstract

This case study reveals how the Civic IoT project Luftdaten.info, though being organized within limits of technical equipment, resources, and academic knowledge, can contribute in multiple ways to more sustainable cities or communities: (1) People become aware and engaged for their local environment, and some change their behavior, (2) the project itself is managed in a sustainable way, (3) the publicly available data on particulate matter (PM) influences the local public sphere. Explored by a media content analysis and two expert interviews, the PM topic in Stuttgart can be characterized as a discursive long-term process. Nevertheless, a data map comparison shows how easily misunderstandings can occur caused by data analytical and visualization decisions. Finally, this study supports Meadows' idea that "[a]ll people and institutions play their role within the large system structure" but as Luftdaten.info shows, it is not only "industries, governments, environmentalists, and most especially economists [playing] essential roles in contributing to sustainability" it can also be ordinary, tech-savvy people making the first essential steps. CCS CONCEPTS • Human-centered computing → Empirical studies in collaborative and social computing; Computer supported cooperative work; Visualization design and evaluation methods; • Applied computing → Sociology.

Research Trends in the Use of the Internet of Things in Sustainability Practices: A Systematic Review

“…Figure 7 displays the association between concepts based on thematic clusters of different colors for the topic of IoT and sustainability. The term 'smart city' is the main thematic node, showing a stronger relationship with terms such as governance, sensors, and environment [58], in coherence with the thematic evolution. Various research studies have focused on developing models, strategies, and technologies for the construction and evolution of smart cities integrated into urban ecosystems [56].…”

Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Engineering: Products, Services, Technologies, and Social Inclusivity with a Gender Approach

“…The scholarly research highlights a void in the empirical exploration of the connection between the Internet of Things (IoT) and sustainability within manufacturing sectors [31]. A particular study demonstrates the various contributions of IoT initiatives toward the development of more sustainable cities or communities across three dimensions: (1) individuals gain awareness and interact with their immediate surroundings, leading to behavioral changes; (2) the initiative is conducted in an environmentally sustainable manner; (3) the availability of public data impacts the local community's public discourse [49].…”