S2HOES – from Trentino to Switzerland for safe and sustainable mobility of children
The FBK KidsGoGreen and PedibusSmart projects will be tested in two elementary schools in Canton of Ticino
The KidsGoGreen and PedibusSmart technology solutions developed by Trento-based Fondazione Bruno Kessler to promote sustainable, active and safe mobility of children will be tested in two elementary schools in Canton of Ticino, Switzerland starting from the next school year, Covid-19 health emergency permitting.
Already tested in various schools in Trentino and in a number of towns in Emilia Romagna, the platforms have shown an impact on mobility that has exceeded all expectations, leading to a 55% reduction in the home-school travel by car.
The initiative is the perfect example of the FBK strategy to support the PA with a research model that starts at the local level, is built and co-designed together with the PA to respond to real needs and then becomes scalable and replicable at national and international level.
In particular, the Kids Go Green platform (https://kidsgogreen.eu/) allows teachers to design interdisciplinary educational projects to discover cities, towns and environments. The home-school kilometers traveled daily with sustainable means by the children allow the group to make progress on a virtual journey, unlocking the various stages and encouraging students to adopt increasingly sustainable behaviors. At each stage, teachers associate multimedia teaching materials that allow students to learn historical, geographical and cultural elements about that place and can therefore be used for classroom learning and to motivate children to move in a sustainable way.
On the other hand, PedibusSmart (https://pedibussmart.fbk.eu/) allows for the automated recording of children joining the pedibus in the morning thanks to a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon device that children keep in their backpacks and an app installed on the smartphone of the volunteer who walks them to school.
The S2HOES – Safe and Sustainable HOmE School mobility project launched in Switzerland with funding from the AXA Foundation for Prevention is coordinated by FBK’s Annapaola Marconi and Elisabetta Farella and combines the potential of these two solutions. The project will be completed in July 2021 and the goal, Covid-19 health situation permitting, is to start with the use of these technology solutions in September to continue throughout the school year.
The impact of the proposed intervention in terms of behavior change will also be assessed, possible obstacles to children’s participation in the walking bus, safety perceptions, the impact on traffic around schools and the effectiveness in motivating families towards sustainable mobility, will be analyzed. Project partners include SUPSI (University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Italian-speaking Switzerland) and ATA Pedibus (Traffic and Environment Association).