The State of the Environment in Bucharest by Razvan Zamfira

Numerous statistics show Bucharest is one of the most polluted cities in the European Union. In addition, it ranks second in terms of the social costs of pollution, including premature death. To achieve a real impact in terms of the environment in the city, Bucharest Community Foundation began the development of a collaborative platform, which brings together companies, local authorities and other stakeholders and invites them to cooperate towards an actionable vision for a greener Bucharest.
To support the launch of the initiative, a report on the state of the environment in Bucharest has been published for the first time. By combining detailed data visualizations based on historical public data with an expert’s analysis, the conclusions managed to spark a conversation between the multiple stakeholders who need to engage when it comes to such a multifaceted issue.
After gathering and analyzing data about green spaces, air quality, climate change, waste management and urban mobility, the team translated the findings into a set of charts that, although static in nature, encourage exploration and unravel the interconnected nature of local sustainability and resilience.

The visual representation of data played a key role in communicating to a wider audience the problems identified by the expert but also in setting a data-driven approach for the NGO’s grant giving programme for environmental projects.