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A participatory process is a sequence of participatory activities (for example, first filling out a survey, then making proposals, discussing them in person or online, and finally prioritizing them) with the goal of defining and making a decision on a specific topic.

Examples of participatory processes: a process for electing committee members (where candidates are first nominated, then debated, and finally one candidate is selected), participatory budgeting (where proposals are submitted, evaluated from a financial perspective, and voted on based on available funds), a strategic planning process, the collaborative drafting of a regulation or standard, the design of an urban space, or the development of a public policy plan.

What do you think about air quality in the City of Lausanne? This “Questionn’Air” survey will help us better understand your expectations and needs regarding air quality. The project will be able to tailor its actions based on the responses received.

This is the first step in a co-design process to create a simple and accessible tool for viewing the data collected by your sensors.

The results of the Questionn'Air survey are currently being analyzed. They will be published sometime in September.

What is air quality? What are the main sources of pollution in the City of Lausanne? What is the current situation in Lausanne and in the Canton of Vaud?

An evening to answer your questions.

Workshops on building your own fine-particle sensor, led by L’éprouvette (UNIL) and the Renens FabLab. They will take place in various neighborhoods throughout the city: Bourdonnette, Faverges, Malley, and Bergières. Dates and locations will be announced soon. Links for dates and registration

A report on the “Questionn’air” and the various stages of the project has been released.

Capt'air Lausanne

An air quality sensor in my home? Why not!

Start date / End date

15 May 2023 / 31 Jan 2024

Current phase

About this participatory initiative

The Capt’Air Project: Keeping You Informed About Air Quality

The air we breathe is essential to our lives, yet it is invisible. Did you know that an adult breathes about 15,000 liters of air per day—the equivalent of a small swimming pool?

The air we breathe every day may contain fine particles that can affect our health, depending on their nature and quantity. It is therefore worthwhile to learn more about it.

The Capt’Air Lausanne project invited the public to explore the theme of the links between the environment and health. Various activities were organized in collaboration with L’éprouvette (UNIL’s Science and Society Laboratory) and the Renens FabLab:

An online “Questionn’Air” survey to share your opinion on air quality in Lausanne. Read the summary of the results.
A conference on air quality on September 13, 2023, at the Palais de Rumine in Lausanne to learn more about the topic and discuss it with experts in the field.
Workshops on building fine-particle sensors to be placed on a windowsill, organized in various neighborhoods of Lausanne (Bourdonnette, Faverges, Bergières, Malley, and at UNIL—date to be announced)

Why add sensors in the city?

Currently, there are two official fine particulate matter monitoring stations in Lausanne (Canton of Vaud and the Swiss Confederation). Their purpose is to record the number of fine particulate matter particles present in the air we breathe and to alert the public in the event of pollution spikes. These stations are few in number due to their very high cost; there are only 10 in the entire canton of Vaud.

The City of Lausanne is setting up an Environmental Observatory to test a network of low-cost sensors and thereby obtain more localized information on air quality. This is also one of the goals of the Captographies project led by L’éprouvette (the UNIL Science and Society Laboratory) and the Renens FabLab: to increase the number of fine-particle sensors on residents’ balconies and windows to gain a better understanding of our immediate environment. Thus, with support from Interact, the Capt’Air Lausanne collaborative project was launched to join forces and raise awareness about the issue of urban air quality.

Ultimately, the goal is to create an online platform that will feature maps, articles, and more to facilitate the sharing of air quality data in Lausanne with all audiences (the public, government officials, scientists, etc.).

The community-led development of sensors is part of the international citizen science movement, with the air quality data collected made freely available. Examples include the Sensor.Community and openSenseMap platforms.