Becoming Infrastructure: Integrating Citizen Science into Disaster Response and Prevention

Citizen science has the potential to contribute to infrastructures for disaster prevention and response. However, sensor networks and crowdsourcing platforms do not in themselves constitute infrastructure. They become disaster infrastructure only to the extent that they are integrated into the routi...

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Main Author: Gwen Ottinger
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Ubiquity Press 2022-05-01
Series:Citizen Science: Theory and Practice
Subjects:
Online Access:https://theoryandpractice.citizenscienceassociation.org/articles/409
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author Gwen Ottinger
author_facet Gwen Ottinger
author_sort Gwen Ottinger
collection DOAJ
description Citizen science has the potential to contribute to infrastructures for disaster prevention and response. However, sensor networks and crowdsourcing platforms do not in themselves constitute infrastructure. They become disaster infrastructure only to the extent that they are integrated into the routine practices of disaster responders. This paper examines several community-led initiatives for characterizing disasters related to air quality, to understand how citizen science becomes, or fails to become, disaster infrastructure. The integration of citizen science into disaster infrastructure is fostered by creating communities of practice that include citizen scientists and disaster responders, and actively connecting new platforms and information to pre-existing infrastructure. By deliberately undertaking these activities, practitioners can help ensure that citizen science fulfills its potential to enhance disaster infrastructure.
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spelling doaj.art-8b77697833da4b2ba316cdf984bbad022022-12-22T03:26:08ZengUbiquity PressCitizen Science: Theory and Practice2057-49912022-05-017110.5334/cstp.409164Becoming Infrastructure: Integrating Citizen Science into Disaster Response and PreventionGwen Ottinger0Drexel UniversityCitizen science has the potential to contribute to infrastructures for disaster prevention and response. However, sensor networks and crowdsourcing platforms do not in themselves constitute infrastructure. They become disaster infrastructure only to the extent that they are integrated into the routine practices of disaster responders. This paper examines several community-led initiatives for characterizing disasters related to air quality, to understand how citizen science becomes, or fails to become, disaster infrastructure. The integration of citizen science into disaster infrastructure is fostered by creating communities of practice that include citizen scientists and disaster responders, and actively connecting new platforms and information to pre-existing infrastructure. By deliberately undertaking these activities, practitioners can help ensure that citizen science fulfills its potential to enhance disaster infrastructure.https://theoryandpractice.citizenscienceassociation.org/articles/409infrastructureair monitoringenvironmental justiceslow disastercommunities of practice
spellingShingle Gwen Ottinger
Becoming Infrastructure: Integrating Citizen Science into Disaster Response and Prevention
Citizen Science: Theory and Practice
infrastructure
air monitoring
environmental justice
slow disaster
communities of practice
title Becoming Infrastructure: Integrating Citizen Science into Disaster Response and Prevention
title_full Becoming Infrastructure: Integrating Citizen Science into Disaster Response and Prevention
title_fullStr Becoming Infrastructure: Integrating Citizen Science into Disaster Response and Prevention
title_full_unstemmed Becoming Infrastructure: Integrating Citizen Science into Disaster Response and Prevention
title_short Becoming Infrastructure: Integrating Citizen Science into Disaster Response and Prevention
title_sort becoming infrastructure integrating citizen science into disaster response and prevention
topic infrastructure
air monitoring
environmental justice
slow disaster
communities of practice
url https://theoryandpractice.citizenscienceassociation.org/articles/409
work_keys_str_mv AT gwenottinger becominginfrastructureintegratingcitizenscienceintodisasterresponseandprevention