Dipartimento Interateneo di Scienze, Progetto e Politiche del Territorio (DIST), Università di Torino

Enabling Citizen Participation in Climate Action and Sustainable Energy Transition

The globe is constantly confronted with urgent challenges such as climate change, resource depletion, and biodiversity loss. Thus, adopting sustainable practices and behaviours is essential to mitigate these environmental issues. Within this context, the active participation and engagement of individuals in advocating and implementing sustainable practices assume a critical role. This approach seeks to raise awareness, motivate people to take action, and help them incorporate sustainable behaviours into their daily lives.
The Interuniversity Department of Regional, Urban Studies, and Planning (DIST) of the Politecnico and University of Torino is planning to organise an event to promote engagement and increase awareness of sustainable practices, as well as circular city initiatives and climate actions for green and digital transition.
Four stands, primarily managed by three research groups from DIST, will be set up to address four important topics of highly relevant topics, i.e. renewable energies, climate actions, circular economy, and water management. Each stand will focus on issues that have a direct and tangible impact on the daily lives of citizens. In particular, the topics scheduled for discussion include i) the benefits of replacing fossil fuels with renewable energies; ii) the responsible use of water and natural resources; iii) raising public awareness about inclusive climate actions for Nature-Based Solutions (NbS), and iv) data collection regarding the societal benefits and impacts of circular economy.
The event will be located in the courtyard of the Valentino Castle and will be open to students and citizens, aimed at improving knowledge among not experts. Different activities are planned to take place, including:
• Distributing digital questionnaires to participants;
• Conducting interviews to assess awareness level on specific topics;
• Organizing team competitions in which several student groups compete on particular subjects;
• Presenting educational demonstrations of model river flow;
• Showcasing the NbS demonstrators from EU projects in Turin.