The potential of citizen science for socio-spatial studies: defining and operationalizing research pathways

The term Citizen Science has been used in various contexts, but little effort has been made to provide a vision of it in regard to socio-spatial studies, which are at the core of the research group on Citizen Science in understanding and transforming the territory (CIDATE). The authors of this chapter represent widely diverse disciplines, including environmental engineering, economics, urban planning and design, landscape architecture and education. The chapter intends to deliver a tailored and timely vision of how, with the help of Citizen Science, the democratisation of science can be promoted and, with this, more collective and sustainable decision making achieved. This chapter is the result of a reflective dialogue between researchers, their projects and experiences tackling spatial and human development from different perspectives. It gathers the conclusions that emerged in the organised debates and the research projects carried out by the researchers, towards creating a broad understanding of the key issues that could help operationalise Citizen Science in future research efforts.