Context and purpose
The initiative responds to the need to address complex urban challenges such as the scarcity of green areas, poor air quality and rising temperatures in Murcia. These problems have direct consequences on the health and well-being of people, especially young generations whose learning processes and social participation are conditioned by degraded environmental conditions. Futures in the Air proposes an approach from art and citizen science to activate an eco-community awareness informed by empirical data and collective experiences.
This transdisciplinary approach integrates gender, class, and urban ecology perspectives to analyze environmental quality and its social impact from multiple perspectives. The project is based on the premise that understanding and making visible environmental data combined with creative processes can strengthen a sense of belonging and community agency in the face of challenges that shape the future of the city.
Structure and collaboration
Futures in the Air is developed in alliance between MurciaLab, Youth for Change, Soma Territorio, the University of Murcia (Faculty of Education) and AYE Social Culture. Each organization brings expertise in research, social mediation, and artistic practices that allow for the design of participatory activities with the youth community and other interested social groups.
These collaborations facilitate the creation of urban intervention devices that amplify local voices and generate aesthetic, social and cultural intervention tools to understand environmental phenomena from multiple languages. Co-design processes with citizens and institutional actors promote spaces for dialogue that articulate artistic and scientific practices in community contexts.
Activities and development
The planned actions combine situated research, participatory workshops and processes of collection and visualization of environmental data in natural and urban spaces. These activities are aimed at transforming perceptions and generating interpretation tools that favor collective action on the environment. The participation of young people in these processes is a strategic axis to open intergenerational dialogues and position creativity as a tool for critical thinking and environmental action.
Expected impact
Futures in the Air seeks to contribute to urban and social transformation through the integration of artistic practices with citizen science, which allows revealing and questioning environmental conditions that influence daily life. This approach aims to enable new frameworks for citizen understanding and action in the face of persistent ecosocial challenges, reinforcing community resilience and environmental justice in urban contexts.