Let's colour Dresden! - Citizen science project starts and is looking for contributors - Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development

The time has come! – On 6 March, the platform "Colouring Dresden" will be launched. It is part of a new citizen science project in which interested citizens of Dresden can actively participate. Thematically, it is about researching Dresden's stock of buildings. The project team will explain how those who are interested can get involved on 6 March, from 4 p.m. in the Central Library in the Kulturpalast Dresden.

Map detail of Dresden with colourful buildings on a black background — Source: IOER-Media/GeoSN

In autumn 2022, the project idea "Architectural heritage and climate-friendly construction in Dresden" (Baukultur und klimafreundliche Architektur in Dresden) was one of the winners in the citizen ccience competition "Auf die Plätze! Citizen science in your city". The Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER) submitted it together with the Association of German Architects (BDA), the Saxon State and University Library Dresden (SLUB) with its regional portal Saxorum and the ZfBK Centre for Building Culture Saxony.

The online platform "Colouring Dresden" will now be launched on 6 March. From this day on, Dresden residents can participate in the project, contribute to the data treasure on the city's building stock and at the same time use the collected knowledge base themselves. The aim of the citizen science project is to bring together knowledge about the city's diverse buildings in a digital map and thus make it visible and usable. The more information that is collected, the more colourful the interactive map of Dresden will be. The collected information helps to close an enormous knowledge gap. The resulting database intends to help protecting Dresden from floods and heavy rain or to make working and living in Dresden more comfortable, effective, healthy and sustainable.

All interested parties are invited to attend the official launch of the online platform "Colouring Dresden" on 6 March, starting at 4 p.m., to find out how they can get involved in the project. The project team will present the online platform and show what data is required and how it can be entered into the platform. The offer is aimed at everyone who is interested in the city of Dresden and its architecture, in the preservation of historical monuments or climate-adapted building. Everyone, from schoolgirl to senior citizen, can participate. Hobby researchers are just as welcome as people who like to work with archival materials such as photo databases.

The event takes place in cooperation with the Central Library in the Kulturpalast Dresden. Participation is free of charge, but registration in advance is desirable for a better planning.

Background
The project is funded as a winner in the citizen science competition "Auf die Plätze! Citizen science in your city". The competition is being organised by "Wissenschaft im Dialog", the joint initiative of German science for science communication, and by the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin in close cooperation with the citizen science platform "Bürger schaffen Wissen" (citizens create knowledge). The funding comes from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Scientific contact
Dr. Robert Hecht (project management), e-mail: R.Hechtioer@ioer.de
Tabea Danke (project coordination), e-mail: T.Dankeioer@ioer.de

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