Inclusive urban planning: leveraging citizen science for community well-being

United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 emphasizes participatory urban development to improve the quality of life and well-being of citizens. Achieving this requires mechanisms that actively engage citizens in urban planning, reflecting their subjective needs and experiences. This study adopts a citizen science approach that facilitates collaboration between city officials, residents, and researchers to explore and improve the urban environment. We present a participatory process implemented in Sankt Augustin, Germany, to improve the livability and climate resilience of public urban spaces. Using crowdmapping through a publicly accessible online web GIS interface, citizens documented their positive and negative experiences and proposed solutions for urban improvement. These collective mappings served as the basis for stakeholder dialogues that directly informed policymaking and urban planning initiatives. Our paper details the project’s structure, methods, processes, and outcomes, highlighting key lessons learned and potential applications for other communities. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of crowdmapping in capturing diverse citizen perspectives and fostering collaborative urban development, and offer insights for future participatory planning efforts in municipalities.