PARTICIPATORY SPATIAL KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT TOOLS

Different types of spatial knowledge (expert, sectoral, tacit and community) are strategic resources in urban planning and management. Participatory spatial knowledge management is a major method for eliciting various types of knowledge, providing a platform for knowledge integration and informing local action and public policy. Knowledge types linked to a specific geographical locality can be integrated through geographical information systems. Recent developments in geographical information and communication technology (geoICT) have extended the opportunities for participatory spatial knowledge production, use and exchange. However, data reliability of user-generated content, social exclusion due to dependence on technology and the interpretation and implications of digital maps are major concerns. The challenge is how to integrate and utilize multiple knowledge sources for improving urban management and governance. This paper integrates the literature on knowledge types and knowledge production processes with available geoICT tools for the production, use and exchange of knowledge sources and applies it to examples from Asia, Africa and Latin America. From this review, we provide a heuristic framework for assessing the extent to which participatory spatial knowledge management tools can be instrumental on several fronts. We argue that technological developments of knowledge production have not fully addressed important issues related to accountability, empowerment, control and use of knowledge. Moreover, these developments may foster social exclusion, which could detract from the benefits of participatory spatial knowledge management in the context of urban sustainability.     

Contestation on Reddit,Gamergate, and movement barriers

This article investigates how the social media site Reddit hindered the collective action efforts stemming from the Gamergate controversy. Using forum posts from two time-points, one early in the movement and another six months later, this work describes how the Reddit platform impeded movement efforts over time. More specifically, we examine how the nature of Reddit discussions created barriers to each of three key movement processes: narrative construction of collective identity, framing, and boundary work. We argue that unlike social media platforms such as Facebook, some sites–Reddit in this case–may negatively impact movement success depending on its structure. We also discuss the importance of differing ICT structures and implications for online interactions more generally.     

Issues and place: the hyperlink network of homeowner forums and implications for collective action

This paper explores the structure and the mechanisms involved in the formation of a hyperlink network of Guangzhou city's 118 homeowner forums in the context of a collective action by the homeowners. It develops a contextual analytical framework contending that the structure of the hyperlink network is influenced by utility values and utilization capability, as well as the media and social environments that shape these values, respectively. The results of the exponential random graph models support this framework. Specifically, hyperlinks are more likely to be created among neighborhood homeowner forums when the neighborhoods are located in the same administrative district, built by the same developers, and managed by the same property management companies. Unfavorable contexts that are prone to violent confrontation hamper the creation of cross-forum hyperlinks, but media visibility increases the odds of other forums hyperlinking to homeowner forums. In addition, high levels of online engagement are positively correlated with hyperlink formation. These findings suggest that although online platforms, such as homeowner forums, play a contributory role in collective action, they have limited power in fostering cross-neighborhood coalitions in urban China.     

Refugee resettlement,social media and the social organization of difference

Social media platforms allow refugees separated by distance to share information, provide support and exchange resources across borders. This connection has the potential to transform resettlement experiences as people maintain significant and ongoing relationships with transnational networks. Yet, since refugee resettlement programmes generally only scale up to the national imagination, integration remains a normative framework in most policy spheres. This article presents a 12‐month digital ethnography of 15 refugees settled in New Zealand with a view to examining their transnational practices of social media and its influence on integration and belonging. Drawing on a conceptual framework based on the social organization of difference, it contains a discussion on how online global networks increasingly inform the domains of encounters, representations and configurations. The role of social media for refugee resettlement futures and its implications for integration at times of rapid political, technological and social change concludes the article.     

Structuring institutional analysis for urban ecosystems: A key to sustainable urban forest management

A decline in urban forest structure and function in the United States jeopardizes the current focus on developing sustainable cities. A number of social dilemmas—for example, free-rider problems—restrict the sustainable production of ecosystem services and the stock of urban trees from which they flow. However, institutions, or the rules, norms, and strategies that affect human decision-making, resolve many such social dilemmas, and thus, institutional analysis is imperative for understanding urban forest management outcomes. Unfortunately, we find that the definition of institutions varies greatly across and within disciplines, and conceptual frameworks in urban forest management and urban ecosystems research often embed institutions as minor variables. Given the significance of institutional analysis to understanding sustainable rural resource management, this paper attempts to bring clarity to defining, conceptually framing, and operationally analyzing institutions in urban settings with a specific focus on sustainable urban forest management. We conclude that urban ecologists and urban forest management researchers could benefit from applying a working definition of institutions that uniquely defines rules, norms, and strategies, by recognizing the nested nature of operational, collective choice, and constitutional institutions, and by applying the Institutional Analysis and Development framework for analysis of urban social-ecological systems (SESs). Such work promises to spur the desired policy-based research agenda of urban forestry and urban ecology and provide cross-disciplinary fertilization of institutional analysis between rural SESs and urban ecosystems.     

Social ecological complex adaptive systems: a framework for research on payments for ecosystem services

The environment is both a setting for and a product of human interactions. Understanding the dynamic nature of human-environment interactions is critical for mitigating the impacts of human induced environmental change and understanding how the environment shapes social systems. Current research has focused on the reduced ability of many natural systems to provide ecosystem services and the subsequent impact on human well-being. Furthermore, there has been a proliferation of cases analyzing the impacts of payment programs designed to enhance ecosystem services. However, analyses that link environmental policies through to their ecological results are not common and methods to do so are not thoroughly developed. To better analyze these interactions, a theory or framework is necessary. This article presents a framework of social ecological complex adaptive systems (SECAS). The framework links structuration theory from social science with the theories of complex adaptive systems from ecology to provide an enhanced understanding of the human drivers and responses to environmental change. The framework is presented as a recursive process where social and ecological systems are both the medium for and product of social action and ecological disturbance. A case study of Costa Rica’s ecosystem service payment program is presented as a demonstration of empirical applicability. This framework is proposed as a method to evaluate payments for ecosystem services, conservation policies, urban ecosystems, and for land use change in general.     

The Cycles of Social Work Practice

The social work profession has vascillated between addressing two different priorities during its history: personal troubles and public issues. The focus on personal troubles emphasizes the private interests, rehabilitation, and self-actualization needs of individuals. Public issues refers to collective needs, social action, and social reform. These riorities shaped the emergence of three distinct methods of social work practice-casework, groupwork, and community organization. This paper links these cyclical shifts in priorities to the socio-economic and political forces in American society, and suggests ways that the profession might sustain a practice framework that IS not so easily influenced by political cycles.     

‘We don’t have any limits’: Russian young adult life narratives through a social generations lens

A social generation framework attends to how emergent historical patterns of social organization shape young adult contemporaries, noting shared strategies to constructing subjectivity within a common political, social, and economic milieu. However, the perspective has given scant attention to how young people engage in reflexive life management outside of well-documented Western contexts. Additionally, the framework needs further consideration of how youth lives are shaped by the social relations of globalization. To address these omissions, this article examines how educated, urban Russian young adults engage in reflexive life management. In drawing on a social generations rather than transitions approach, youth meaning-making is analyzed through grounded analysis rather than reliance on previously conceived categories. The study of youth reflexive life management can be reframed as a question: ‘what does making a life mean to educated urban post-adolescents in Russia?’ We explore how respondents interpret difference and inequality through transnational comparisons, center globality in the biographical project, and encounter citizenship constraints. We focus on three meaning-making projects: idealized globality, assuming nonlinear paths, and vigilant evaluative work.     

Implementation challenges to the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings: Towards the goals of sustainable,low carbon cities

It is well acknowledged that low carbon emissions is one of the key factors contributing to sustainable urban development and effectively tackling climate change. Adaptive reuse of buildings is a form of sustainable urban regeneration, as it extends the building's life and avoids demolition waste, encourages reuses of the embodied energy and also provides significant social and economic benefits to the society. Thus, it embraces the different dimensions of sustainability. However, the debates over which sustainability factors are key, and how to address them all in practice, remain unresolved. This study begins with an intensive literature review of the factors that contribute to the goal of sustainable development in the conservation of built heritage. This is followed by in-depth interviews with practitioners who have participated in adaptive reuse projects in Hong Kong. These interviews confirm the reliability of the shortlisted sustainability factors. More importantly, this paper examines the challenges in incorporating a sustainability framework into adaptive reuse projects. The authors stress that the framework for achieving sustainable, low carbon adaptive reuse should be viewed more holistically, integrating social, economic, environmental, urban and political policies.     

Practicing Birchism: The Assumption and Limits of Idiocultural Coherence in Framing Theory

Social movement theory and research over the past twenty years have utilized the concepts incorporated under the rubric of Framing Theory in order to draw attention to the cultural ‘meaning work’ within a social movement or social movement organization. Underlying Framing Theory is an assumption of what I term idiocultural coherence – that for a movement organization to be successful, its members must come to agree cognitively with its cultural understandings and identify collectively with it. Drawing on an example of the John Birch Society, a very successful conspiratorial, anti-communist organization, I show how people may join a social movement organization not because they necessarily or fully agree with its collective action frames but because it provides an opportunity to act collectively and publicly perform a collective identity. I argue that a narrow focus on idiocultural processes obfuscates important cultural processes ‘outside’ of a movement organization that have an impact on how and why people join an organization and maintain membership.     

On the Contributions of Cognitive Sociology to the Sociological Study of Race

In this article, we argue for cognitive sociology as a framework for studying the sociology of race. Cognitive sociology concerns itself with classification, identity construction, meaning and collective memory and is thus centrally concerned with generic issues that apply well to racial category construction and maintenance. We, first, outline the cognitive sociology framework. We then elaborate on traditions in the sociology of race and racism that have implicit affinities to cognitive sociology. We argue that cognitive sociology provides a useful generic framework with which to look at specific issues in racial classification, the social construction of race, and to racist cognitions, while critical race theory and other sociology of race frameworks can compliment cognitive sociology by addressing issues of power and domination in cognitive frameworks.     

Perceived leadership stability and the structure of urban agenda-setting networks

A number of recent studies have addressed the informal social structure surrounding urban decision making, showing its implications for collective political action. This paper extends these analyses by asking a prior question: what factors affect the structure of political networks? Specifically, the paper develops a model suggesting how one such factor, perceptions of political leadership and the expectations of political conflict they may engender, affect the structure of urban agenda-setting networks. Data collected from six cities show perceptions of leadership stability to be strongly correlated with four structural characteristics of these networks.     

Die Organisation kollektiver Aktionen durch Beeinflussung der individuellen Teilnahmeentscheidung

Computer simulations allow a more optimal organization of collective action. For this purpose, the present study followed an actor-centered approach, in which the actor’s decision to participate in collective action is modeled on the basis of an expansion of the Theory of Planned Behavior. The variables used in the model of the individual’s decision to participate in a collective action are attitude, return, subjective social norm, and perceived behavior control with regard to participation. With these four variables, various social scientific theories are integrated (Elaboration Likelihood Model, Theory of Planned Behavior, Rational Choice Theory). These theories allow a conceptualization of interactions among individuals, and the effect of the active people, who seek to recruit others to participate in a collective action, can be studied. Simulations of a population of 10,000 individuals reveal the influence of the following factors on the effectiveness of collective action campaigns: different forms of recruitment by activators, the amount of contributions to the collective good of the participants, the size of the collective good, and the resources available to activators (training in persuasion methods, possibility to reward participants). Finally, simulation results are summarized in the form of recommendations for implementation when organizing collective action.     

Place,space, networks,and the sustainability of collective action: the Madres de Plaza de Mayo

This article provides a framework for analysing social movements and explaining how collective action can be sustained through networks. Drawing on current relational views of place and space, I offer a spatialized conception of social networks that critically synthesizes network theory, research on social movements, and the literature on the spatial dimensions of collective action. I examine the historic and contemporary network geographies of a group of human rights activists in Argentina (the Madres de Plaza de Mayo) and explain the duration of their activism over a period of more than two decades with regard to the concept of geographic flexibility. To be specific, first I show how, through the practice of place‐based collective rituals, activists have maintained network cohesion and social proximity despite physical distance. Second, I examine how the construction of strategic networks that have operated at a variety of spatial scales has allowed the Madres to access resources that are important for sustaining mobilization strategies. Finally, I discuss how the symbolic depiction of places has been used as a tool to build and sustain network connections among different groups. I conclude by arguing that these three dimensions of the Madres’ activism account for their successful development of geographically flexible networks, and that the concept of geographic flexibility provides a useful template for studies of the duration and continuity of collective action.     

Social-ecological innovation: adaptive responses to urban environmental conditions

Novel approaches to natural resource management, particularly those which promote stakeholder participation, have been put forward as fundamental ingredients for establishing resilient, polycentric forms of environmental governance. This is nowhere more pertinent than in the case of the complex adaptive systems associated with urban areas. Decentralisation of urban green space management has been posited as an element thereof which, according to resilience thinking, should contribute to the adaptive capacity of cities and the ecosystem services upon which they rely. Implicit in this move towards increased adaptive capacity is the ability to manage through innovation. Although the importance of innovation towards system adaptability has been acknowledged, little work has thus far been carried out which demonstrates that innovative use of urban green space represents a form of adaptive response to environmental conditions. The current paper reports on research which maps examples of organised social-ecological innovation (OSEI) in an urban study area and evaluates them as adaptive responses to local environmental conditions which may contribute to system resilience. The results present OSEI as a coherent body of responses to local social and environmental deprivation, exhibiting diversity and adaptability according to individual contexts. The study therefore provides evidence for the importance of local stakeholder-led innovation as in the building of adaptive capacity in urban social-ecological systems.     

Multitudinous identities: a qualitative and network analysis of the 15M collective identity

The emergence of network-movements since 2011 has opened the debate around the way in which social media and networked practices make possible innovative forms of collective identity. We briefly review the literature on social movements and ‘collective identity’, and show the tension between different positions stressing either organization or culture, the personal or the collective, aggregative or networking logics. We argue that the 15M (indignados) network-movement in Spain demands conceptual and methodological innovations. Its rapid emergence, endurance, diversity, multifaceted development and adaptive capacity, posit numerous theoretical and methodological challenges. We show how the use of structural and dynamic analysis of interaction networks (in combination with qualitative data) is a valuable tool to track the shape and change of what we term the ‘systemic dimension’ of collective identities in network-movements. In particular, we introduce a novel method for synchrony detection in Facebook activity to identify the distributed, yet integrated, coordinated activity behind collective identities. Applying this analytical strategy to the 15M movement, we show how it displays a specific form of systemic collective identity we call ‘multitudinous identity’, characterized by social transversality and internal heterogeneity, as well as a transient and distributed leadership driven by action initiatives. Our approach attends to the role of distributed interaction and transient leadership at a mesoscale level of organizational dynamics, which may contribute to contemporary discussions of collective identity in network-movements.     

What about Rural Blight? Housing and Neighborhood Conditions in Southeastern Small Towns

Though the concept of blight clarifies housing and neighborhood changes in rural and small towns experiencing disinvestment and decline, the term is rarely examined outside of urban discourse. This study explores the extent of rural blight and its relationship to community characteristics using survey results from elected officials and staff members of small towns in one southeastern state. We examine the historical background of blight, including its connections to urban renewal, racial bias and stereotyping, and the broken windows theory. Among the small towns in the study, economic blight, particularly dilapidated housing, was prevalent. Social blight, which includes behaviors that are thought to be threatening or criminal in nature, was less common but correlated moderately with economic forms of blight. While social disorganization and collective efficacy theories link a range of demographic characteristics to physical and social disorder, our findings pointed only to a significant relationship between communities with a higher portion of the population who are black and multiple forms of extensive blight. More research is needed to understand the relationship, both observed and perceived, between economic and social blight in rural small towns and how these issues may be remediated through local collective action.     

PERCEPTIONS OF SOCIAL SUPPORT AVAILABILITY AND COPING BEHAVIORS AMONG GAY MEN WITH HIV

Analyzing face-to-face, semistructured interviews, we discuss how perceptions of social support availability are formed among gay men coping with HIV. Experiences of receiving support increased perceived availability for specific types of support from specific individuals, but receiving support also gave these men a general sense that someone would be available for assistance. Other aspects of social relationships, such as closeness and role expectations, contributed to gay men's perceptions of support availability. The results suggest that when people with common problems cope together, collective knowledge of support availability may emerge from observations of others' support exchanges as well as from discussions of support experiences. Individuals or groups of individuals may actively create and modify their perceptions of support availability when they cope with anticipated problems. Thus, the study provided an opportunity to integrate concepts of coping and social support into the collective action and social constructionist frameworks.     

Anti-War Activism: New Media and Protest in the Information Age

This starts out by distinguishing between communication and communication mediums when examining social movement-powered formations of collective identity and collective action. We then focus on communication mediums to examine the different ways that old and new media are utilized in urban social movements under neoliberal capitalism. Based on shifts in the political economy and correspondingly in the contemporary composition of the working class, we focus on the Media Mobilizing Project in Philadelphia to argue that contemporary urban social movements and networks utilize a multi-media platform to further class-based politics. The respective use of old or new media depends on important contextual questions, regarding technology access and geographic aspects of movement building work.     

Community conflict resolution: the development of social capital within an interactional field

Purpose: In recent years, we have seen the concept of social capital incorporated into academic and popular discourse within the United States and across the globe. Social capital has been linked to the differences in land sale prices among agricultural producers to the economic decisions individuals make as they participate in a market economy to educational attainment, and the collective benefit of more effectively managing the physical and economic resources of a collective.Justification for the focus on social capital has been based on the role social capital plays in enhancing the ability of communities to manage human, economic, and environmental capital. High degrees of social capital have been suggested to enhance a community’s ability to manage controversy. Yet, little is known about the development of social capital within a community. Questions arise such as, “Does a community have to have social capital before a conflict develops if it is to successfully resolve a community wide dispute? If not, then what conceptual framework will provide insight into the development of social capital as a community engages local conflict?”This paper provides a linkage between the community literature, which examines community as an interactional field and the evolving concept of social capital. The concept of community as an interactional field was supported by Kauffman (1959) as he presented an argument that community can be viewed as a field of social interaction, which when strengthened and focused, the result is the creation of public good oriented actions. This public focus provides a structure to better organize and manage community wide resources.Wilkinson, a student of Kauffman, continued this conceptual work as he described two fields. The social field and the community field. The primary distinction between the two fields is that in the social field individuals pursue their own self interest while a community field cuts across these fields and is more generalized. It is within the community field that we see collective action focusing on public good.Methods: Drawing upon a case study the question of “how does social capital develop?” is addressed. This paper examines the development of social capital within the context of a community conflict. By examining the process through the lens of community as an interactional field the development and impact of social capital is highlighted. Utilizing a case study of a small rural Nebraska community the process of social capital development is examined as a small geographically isolated rural community engages across social fields building social capital as it heals and gains skills to manage its human, economic and environmental resources.In this paper I provide a theoretical overview of the conceptual components of social capital, link those to the concept of community as an interactional field and use this theoretical synthesis to examine a case study of a small Nebraskan community as it attempts to resolve a serious community conflict.Results: The findings suggest that social capital is a consequence as well as a cause of community action. The interaction within the social field provides a preliminary forum for increased acquaintanceship densities, which provide in-depth personal knowledge about players across social fields and beyond specific self interests. Norms develop, trust and reciprocity evolve from the increased acquaintanceship density across social fields. Social capital develops as the collective action takes on a community focus versus that of a specific individual or organization. In the case of Alton, Nebraska, social capital developed within the community field as the residents engaged in conflict over a local school.Conclusion: This case study provides insight into how social capital not only can enhance the community’s ability to manage resources but may develop as a consequence of collective action such as resolving a local conflict.