Embedding Citizen Science in GLAMs to Address Urban Sustainability Challenges: a Cross-Case Analysis in four European Cities

The interaction between Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAMs) and Citizen Science (CS) has been explored mostly from a prospective perspective. This paper presents an empirical analysis of five CS pilots addressing urban sustainability challenges, conducted within or in close collaboration with six GLAMs. In Barcelona, a university partnered with a public library to assess heat exposure in public spaces. In Delft, children’s perceptions of urban spaces were collected and discussed through a collaboration between a university and a public library. In Tallinn, a community museum supported the testing of a digital visualization tool to enhance citizens’ feedback in urban planning. In Vienna, an urban research institute and an academic library co-designed two pilots addressing urban heat and the transformation of public spaces. Findings draw on GLAMs’ distinct contributions, the structural organization of the pilots, and the perceptions of librarians and researchers, collected through surveys, interviews, and collective writing processes. A strong community-oriented focus and the engagement of underrepresented citizen groups were common features across all pilots, though organizational structures and actor typologies varied by city. GLAMs consistently acted as powerful connectors between researchers, citizens, and local stakeholders. Embedding CS initiatives within social and community-oriented venues helps mitigate power imbalances and foster horizontal, mutual learning between academics and GLAM staff. GLAM can also provide the crucial social infrastructure to significantly embed sustainability challenges-related CS initiatives in many knowledge ecosystems, over different countries and cities.