Rio de Janeiro has proven to be fertile ground for implementing this approach, applied mainly in the most vulnerable areas of the city. CDG helps favela and peripheral residents produce more accurate diagnoses of their realities. The process ranges from data collection to the proposal of public policies, ensuring that their realities and demands are recognized and considered based on data.
CDG refers to actions that empower citizens to generate, collect, and use data for the benefit of their communities or collectives. These are pieces of information collected directly by ordinary people, without interference from conventional institutions. The goal is to strengthen communities so they can collect, analyze, and use data about their living conditions, promoting active participation in solving local problems.
Here in Rio de Janeiro, several organizations have adopted this approach in areas such as public security, health, education, and urban infrastructure. The data collected offers insights often not captured by government surveys, revealing crucial details for public policies that are truly inclusive and effective. Favelas, historically faced with issues such as social exclusion and violence, have become centers of innovative initiatives already using the methodology.
Organizations like Data_labe, Redes da Maré, and Fogo Cruzado highlight how Rio de Janeiro has been a visionary in implementing Citizen Data Generation (CDG).
A notable example is Cocôzap, a basic sanitation mapping project developed by Data_labe, which enables residents of Maré, a set of favelas located in the North Zone of Rio, to monitor and report sanitation issues using only their cell phones.
Through WhatsApp, residents send photos and information about sewage problems, flooding, illegal waste disposal, and health hazards, among other sanitation issues. This data is compiled into a database used to create documents that pressure authorities to take action. This initiative mapped the sixteen favelas of the complex and, through its work, promoted greater transparency in public management, putting the power of transformation in the hands of the population.
Just as Cocôzap fosters citizen participation, other organizations like the Fogo Cruzado Institute exemplify the impact of CDG in Rio. The institute uses data generated by residents to map shootings in real time. These pieces of information, often not recorded by authorities, provide a clearer picture of where and when confrontations take place, helping the community avoid risky areas and contributing to more effective security policies.
These data are shared with authorities, improving urban governance and promoting a collaborative approach between government and the population.
Another important aspect of CDG is identifying gaps in public services. By collecting data on sanitation, health, and education, communities document which services are lacking. In Rio’s favelas, often neglected by government data, CDG fills these gaps, ensuring that the population's needs are made visible.
Redes da Maré, a non-profit organization in the area, uses CDG to monitor access to education and healthcare in the largest favela complex in Rio. The collected data helps pressure authorities for improvements in services, ensuring that public policies reach the most vulnerable areas, as well as raising residents' awareness of their rights.
Although focused on local actions, the CDG methodology aligns with global initiatives such as the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs). By promoting greater social inclusion and solutions for urban problems, CDG directly contributes to SDGs related to health and sanitation.
The citizen data generation focus resonates with discussions promoted by the G20, especially within the Sherpa Track Development Working Group, which addresses social inclusion as a strategy to strengthen cities’ capacity to meet social demands and foster fairer, more equitable development.
While CDG has found fertile ground in Rio de Janeiro, its implications extend beyond. The movement of citizen-generated data is growing in various parts of the world, especially in the Global South, where initiatives have sought recognition and inclusion of marginalized populations’ voices. The application of CDG in areas with low human development indices and a lack of basic rights, such as sanitation, emerges as a model for other metropolises, ensuring that these crucial data are collected inclusively and are essential for sustainable development and reducing inequalities.
Citizen Data Generation is a powerful tool for transformation. It allows communities to take control of their own stories and directly influence the future of cities. CDG empowers citizens to actively participate in the formulation of public policies and improve living conditions in their territories. The collectives working on this issue in the peripheries demonstrate how the proper use of data can create a more just, inclusive, and resilient city.
As CDG grows, it is reshaping urban governance in Rio and inspiring other cities around the world to adopt a similar approach. Citizen participation is the key to a more just and sustainable future.
The future must be collective!
Contributor’s Notes
Maria Ribeiro, 24 years old, from the Northeast of Brazil, raised in the Complexo da Maré, has eight years of experience in communication and social media management for civil society organizations. Since 2019, she has worked as a content producer at Data_Labe, a data laboratory focused on analyzing and disseminating data with a racial, gender, and territorial perspective. She co-developed the social technology CocôZap to map sanitation conditions in the 16 favelas of Complexo da Maré through Citizen Data Generation. She is also a co-founder of the Coalition “O Clima é de Mudança,” promoting climate debates in the peripheries and favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Maria is also part of the team of Residents of the Youth Negotiators for the Climate and works alongside the communications team of the Rio G20 Committee.
