City Layers is a digital platform for map-based community engagement in citizen science. Our tools enable research teams and citizen science projects to collect, analyse and communicate community knowledge, observations, experiences and ideas. Through an intuitive map-based interface, participants can pin their contributions to specific sites, while the collected data can subsequently be analysed, visualised and translated into clear results and outcomes.
City Layers itself emerged from citizen science. Its underlying methodology was developed and further advanced through several research and innovation projects, including City Layers: Citizen Mapping as a Practice of City-Making (FWF Top Citizen Science, 2023), Layered City: Inclusive Mobility Dashboard (EU IMPETUS, 2024), and City Layers: Collaborative Framework for Resilient City-Making (EU IMPETUS, 2025). At the core of this work is activating participation and making community experiences, observations and knowledge visible and understandable in their spatial context.
Since 2023, more than 10,000 participants and citizen scientists have taken part in projects implemented using the City Layers methodology and platform.