Supporting cities, neighborhoods, and local communities with information and communication technologies

Abstract

Challenges of the local context such as encouraging civic engagement and facilitating collaboration to address local issues have motivated researchers and practitioners to explore the role of technologies in supporting life in cities, neighborhoods, and local communities. The goal of this workshop is to open a discussion on how to design, build and study ICT infrastructures and infrastructuring processes that contributes to this effort. We aim to create a publicly accessible repository of infrastructuring tools and to facilitate the cross-pollination of ideas about technology in local contexts among the researchers, practitioners, and residents interested in this area. At the workshop, participants will collaborate with Vancouver's residents and technology practitioners in order to explore the past, present, and future of research in this space; co-construct an infrastructuring tools repository; discuss key information challenges of local communities; and brainstorm solutions and opportunities to address them. Discussion and ideas generated will be archived online to be available to the larger research community and to local community advocates and activists.