Urban politics of ordinary digital participation
Based on long-term ethnographic and “chatnographic” fieldwork (2015-2024), this article examines the ordinary uses of digital technologies in urban risk management in San José, Costa Rica, focusing on residents’ communication practices via WhatsApp and Facebook around flooding of the Ocloro River. I...
में बचाया:
| में प्रकाशित: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/netcom, |
|---|---|
| मुख्य लेखकों: | , |
| स्वरूप: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| प्रकाशित: |
Netcom
2025
|
| विषय: | |
| ऑनलाइन पहुंच: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| id |
openedition-oai:revues.org:netcom_9839 |
|---|---|
| record_format |
openedition |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
participation citoyenne réseaux sociaux numériques gestion du risque digital placemaking mobilisation social media risk management digital placemaking citizen participation mobilization |
| spellingShingle |
participation citoyenne réseaux sociaux numériques gestion du risque digital placemaking mobilisation social media risk management digital placemaking citizen participation mobilization Víquez, Sofia Guevara Kotras, Baptiste Urban politics of ordinary digital participation |
| description |
Based on long-term ethnographic and “chatnographic” fieldwork (2015-2024), this article examines the ordinary uses of digital technologies in urban risk management in San José, Costa Rica, focusing on residents’ communication practices via WhatsApp and Facebook around flooding of the Ocloro River. It analyzes how inhabitants mobilize mainstream digital tools to organize collectively in the face of environmental risks and to redefine their relationship with territory and public institutions. Our paper combines interviews, participant observation, and qualitative and quantitative analysis of 4,479 messages exchanged in a WhatsApp group created and managed by residents. The results highlight three main dynamics: (1) the infrapolitical self-organization of residents during emergencies; (2) the accountability—and at times contestation—of public authorities, made possible through the circulation of images, data, and digital traces; and (3) the gradual politicization of environmental issues, leading to collective mobilization for the protection of the river basin, beyond the immediate concern of flooding.The study thus reveals a process of digital placemaking, in which social media become instruments for producing knowledge and governing territory “from below.” WhatsApp and Facebook—everyday, mainstream applications—are used for the production, archiving, and mobilization of lay knowledge in legal and political action. In the Latin American context, these ordinary digital practices contribute to reconfiguring urban governance and transforming citizen participation into a locally grounded form of environmental action. |
| author |
Víquez, Sofia Guevara Kotras, Baptiste |
| author_facet |
Víquez, Sofia Guevara Kotras, Baptiste |
| author_sort |
Víquez, Sofia Guevara |
| title |
Urban politics of ordinary digital participation |
| title_short |
Urban politics of ordinary digital participation |
| title_full |
Urban politics of ordinary digital participation |
| title_fullStr |
Urban politics of ordinary digital participation |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Urban politics of ordinary digital participation |
| title_sort |
urban politics of ordinary digital participation |
| publisher |
Netcom |
| publishDate |
2025 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/netcom |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/1572p https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/netcom/9839 |
| _version_ |
1877291866648477696 |
| spelling |
openedition-oai:revues.org:netcom_9839 https://doi.org/10.4000/1572p urn:doi:10.4000/1572p https://journals.openedition.org/netcom/9839 2025-11-29T01:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/1572p https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Urban politics of ordinary digital participation Netcom Netcom Association info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2431-210X info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/0987-6014 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/netcom Víquez, Sofia Guevara Kotras, Baptiste participation citoyenne réseaux sociaux numériques gestion du risque digital placemaking mobilisation social media risk management digital placemaking citizen participation mobilization Based on long-term ethnographic and “chatnographic” fieldwork (2015-2024), this article examines the ordinary uses of digital technologies in urban risk management in San José, Costa Rica, focusing on residents’ communication practices via WhatsApp and Facebook around flooding of the Ocloro River. It analyzes how inhabitants mobilize mainstream digital tools to organize collectively in the face of environmental risks and to redefine their relationship with territory and public institutions. Our paper combines interviews, participant observation, and qualitative and quantitative analysis of 4,479 messages exchanged in a WhatsApp group created and managed by residents. The results highlight three main dynamics: (1) the infrapolitical self-organization of residents during emergencies; (2) the accountability—and at times contestation—of public authorities, made possible through the circulation of images, data, and digital traces; and (3) the gradual politicization of environmental issues, leading to collective mobilization for the protection of the river basin, beyond the immediate concern of flooding.The study thus reveals a process of digital placemaking, in which social media become instruments for producing knowledge and governing territory “from below.” WhatsApp and Facebook—everyday, mainstream applications—are used for the production, archiving, and mobilization of lay knowledge in legal and political action. In the Latin American context, these ordinary digital practices contribute to reconfiguring urban governance and transforming citizen participation into a locally grounded form of environmental action. Fondé sur une enquête ethnographique et « chatnographique » de long terme (2015-2024), cet article examine les usages ordinaires des technologies numériques dans la gestion des risques urbains à San José (Costa Rica), en se concentrant sur les pratiques de communication via WhatsApp et Facebook des habitant·es, autour des inondations du fleuve Ocloro. Il analyse la manière dont les habitants mobilisent des outils numériques grand public pour s’organiser face aux risques environnementaux et redéfinir leurs rapports au territoire et aux institutions. L’article combine entretiens, observations participantes et analyse qualitative et quantitative de 4 479 messages échangés sur un groupe WhatsApp créé et animé par les habitant·es. Les résultats montrent que ces usages numériques soutiennent trois dynamiques principales : (1) une auto-organisation infra-politique des habitants face aux urgences ; (2) une mise en responsabilité voire une contestation des autorités publiques, rendue possible par la circulation d’images, de données et de traces numériques ; (3) une politisation progressive des enjeux environnementaux, donnant lieu à une mobilisation collective pour la protection du bassin versant, au-delà du seul risque d’inondation. L’étude met ainsi en évidence un processus de digital placemaking, où les médias sociaux deviennent des instruments de connaissance et de gouvernement du territoire « par le bas ». WhatsApp et Facebook, applications grand public et utilisées au quotidien, sont mobilisées pour la production de savoirs profanes sur les risques, leur archivage et leur mobilisation dans des actions juridiques et politiques. Dans le contexte latino-américain, ces pratiques ordinaires du numérique contribuent à reconfigurer la gouvernance urbaine et à transformer la participation citoyenne en une forme d’action environnementale localement située. |