Work Package 3, led by Eurac Research, provides the common knowledge framework needed to achieve Visionary and integrated Solutions proposed by the VARCITIES project.

Specifically, within WP3, Task 3.1 is devoted to the creation of the knowledge baseline needed to characterize the status-quo of the pilots. This deliverable provides guidelines to set a shared and coherent pathway for the collection of data for pilot characterization, but also for further data collections.

Executive Summary

Key initial activities of the VARCITIES project refer to the identification of problems or challenges that affect the pilot cities and impact the definition of adequate solutions, based on both urban digital transformation and the adoption of nature-based actions such as greening of (open) spaces. As such, the main objective of Work Package (WP 3) is to provide the common knowledge framework that is necessary to achieve the visionary and integrated solutions to foster a significant increase in Health & Wellbeing (H&WB) in cities. Task 3.1 more specifically consists in the creation of the knowledge basis for the characterization of the status-quo of the pilots. This deliverable provides guidelines to set a shared and coherent pathway for the collection of data for pilot characterization, but also for further data collections.

The most relevant data collection needs, foreseen by the different activities of the VARCITIES project, are illustrated, namely data collection for the characterization of each pilot city (WP3), for the implementation of the H&WB platform (WP5) and for the monitoring and assessment of the project impacts through KPIs (WP7). A shared template is introduced to characterize the status quo of the pilots and set the knowledge basis necessary for designing the visionary solutions for the pilot cities. A reasonable balance between the need for a picture as detailed as possible, which covers all the relevant domains of knowledge, and the data collection efforts asked to the partners running the pilots is sought. The use of a shared template and the exploitation of common databases, such as EUROSTAT or those provided by the Copernicus European platform, help further in limiting the efforts required and obtaining results as homogeneous as possible. To achieve a sound technical definition of KPIs a form for their technical specification is introduced, with the aim of identifying in advance the categories of metadata and associated information that will need to be collected in the context of future WP7 activities.

Finally, general guidelines are detailed to facilitate the setup of effective data collection plans and processes. The guidelines encompass the following elements: collection and systematization of metadata for homogeneity and integration of the data collected; requirements for spatial data; recommendations for climate and satellite data collection; aspects specific to sensors and wearables customized for VARCITIES; issues concerning ethics, privacy, gender and diversity, with focus on data collection activities requiring direct interaction with citizens and stakeholders (e.g. surveys, questionnaires, etc.); scheduling of the different steps of data collection processes and identification of the actors involved and their respective roles

This is a confidential deliverable, as such the full deliverable is not available to the public.