Aria Bene Comune

Reclaiming Data Sovereignty and the Means of Information Production in the Sacrifice Zone of Taranto

'Aria Bene Comune' investigates how citizens in Taranto can reclaim control over information about the pollution affecting their lives. Responding to decades of industrial contamination and distrust caused by data manipulation, the project works with local activists to build a citizen-run air-quality monitoring network. Rather than approaching Taranto as a site from which to extract research and data, the designer has built an ongoing relationship with residents, allowing their knowledge and needs to continually shape the project.

The network features DIY sensors placed outside that contribute measurements to a shared self-built platform that uses WHO thresholds and connects pollution levels with bodily symptoms. The installation features steel clotheslines that support a working sensor and rust-printed banners carrying messages from environmental protests. The accompanying documentary portrays residents not as victims, but as people who can organise, resist, and ultimately hold the polluters accountable.