Project Description:
Stop Bike Theft was a project that encouraged citizens to report bicycle theft via BiciZen, an interactive citizen science platform. The issue of bicycle theft had been largely overlooked as a significant obstacle to urban cycling and sustainable mobility transformations. Our aim was to raise awareness on the topic, gather information on the extent and spatial patterns of theft in Barcelona, facilitate reporting on bicycle theft, and strengthen the cycling community through increased engagement with the BiciZen platform.
Over the course of seven months, we ran a campaign to draw attention to the issue and encouraged people to report their stolen bicycles. This initiative helped us uncover the true extent of bicycle theft in the city and ultimately aimed to support citizens in protecting their bikes or recovering them in case of theft. The project contributed to advancing urban transformations towards greater cycling mobility.
Project Type: Sustaining Grant
Theme: Sustainable Lifestyles, Mobility
Mentor:Inês Navalhas
Stop Bike Theft: A Citizen Science Project in Barcelona
Our citizen science project, “Stop Bike Theft,” is based in Barcelona and implemented by a research team comprising three members from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and one member from the cycling cooperative CUBIC.
The project aims to increase awareness about bicycle theft, motivate people to engage with the cycling community, and encourage reporting theft incidents on BiciZen, our citizen science platform. Additionally, we aim to use the newly collected data to complement existing studies and inform further research questions and policy recommendations for academia, local city planners, and law enforcement.
Public Campaign and Community Engagement
To achieve our goals, we launched a public awareness campaign that included online engagement through regular social media posts and offline events. These events, such as the project’s launch and various outreach activities, focused on promoting cycling mobility in Barcelona. We established collaborations with local cooperatives and organizations involved in cycling mobility and urban sustainability, such as Aquí Coop, BACC, BiciHub, and Biciclot.
In September, we held a launch event to promote the project and collect people’s opinions and experiences through mind-mapping activities and open Q&A sessions. Currently, we are preparing the final project event, scheduled for December 18th. This event will feature a presentation of the data collected by citizens and a workshop to analyze the roles of different stakeholders and explore how each can contribute to addressing bike theft. This event will showcase the “fruit of their work” to citizens and inform future research and policy proposals beyond the IMPETUS phase.
Why This Project Matters
We believe this project is crucial because bicycle theft is chronically understated and often overlooked in discussions about sustainable urban transformation. The only available theft data comes from the police, but it is unreliable, as many incidents go unreported and not all thefts are included in official statistics. “Stop Bike Theft” aims to collect additional data directly from citizens. By encouraging more people to contribute to BiciZen, we seek to create a resilient community that fosters knowledge exchange and mutual support. Moreover, the project’s outcomes will help researchers provide new insights to local authorities, ultimately improving bike protection measures.
Support from IMPETUS
Beyond funding, IMPETUS provided valuable training sessions, support, and guidance throughout the project. They also assigned us a personal mentor and facilitated connections with other citizen science projects addressing similar topics.
Future Directions
In the final stages of the project, our research team is actively engaging with representatives from Barcelona’s government. We are working towards a collaborative investigation into bike theft that involves multiple cycling organisations, local government, and police. The project has also highlighted open questions and gaps in existing research on urban cycling safety. Moving forward, we will continue researching bike theft and aim to contribute to scientific publications and policy discussions beyond the IMPETUS framework.
