For several years now, more than 2,000 citizen scientists have been counting traffic (number of cars, cyclists and pedestrians) in their streets for an hour as part of the citizen-science project Straatvinken, an Belgian initiative of the Ringland Academy under the scientific supervision of University of Antwerp and HIVA - University of Leuven. The count gives an idea of the modal split at street level: the share of motorized traffic compared to more sustainable modes of transport (pedestrians, cyclists and public transport).
Voices That Count added another layer of research: SenseMaker was used to assess the quality of life in the streets. The citizen scientists were asked what they would say to a friend or acquaintance considering moving on their street. With a short story, they sketch how they experience the liveability of their street on a daily basis. In addition, they answer a number of questions about their story, related to traffic, social contacts, environment and design.
The first edition took place from May to June 2019 (580 personal stories from residents were collected), and is repeated every year.
