Access to open environmental data is crucial for building smart cities, developing a sustainable culture, and supporting citizens’ well-being. In the city of Bogotá, with more than 10 million inhabitants, there is a great potential for creating civic programs, systems, and campaigns that help us to improve the quality of life and build environmental awareness. Last Saturday September 6, as part of the global #MakerParty initiative, we met at the space of Bogohack and spent the afternoon brainstorming, learning, and building a couple of devices for collecting environmental measures. We tinkered with arduinos and a range of sensors, especially the ones for measuring humidity, ph, and water conductivity. Although we didn’t have enough time to finish the devices in time to go to the field and capture data around el barrio La Soledad at the localidad de Teusaquillo, we learned a lot building the devices and set up a plan to continue discussing and implementing environmental projects that leverage the power of microprocessors, sensors, and civic crowdsourcing.
Maker Party at Bogohack: Mediciones Ambientales en la Localidad de Teusaquillo
