We investigate the intersection of civic resilience, community organisation, and the politics of urban development by observing, engaging, and experimenting with civic technologies for resilient and inclusive urban futures.
Through partnerships with non-governmental organisations and local communities, we aim to examine how civic engagement through technology and other vehicles is implemented in Southeast Asia, document these emerging practices, and study the new politics of engagement that they generate. To address the challenges of social, climate, and institutional resilience, CiRe highlights how urban data, digital infrastructures, and everyday engagement can work to mediate power, participation, and inclusion in Southeast Asian cities.
Social Resilience
Urban communities in Southeast Asia must have the capacity to self-organise and adapt in complex social contexts. CiRe investigates how civic technologies and everyday engagement strengthen community solidarity, power, and knowledge. It explores ways to link data to diverse lived experiences through documentation and the co-development of civic tools and methods.
Technology Resilience
The digital tools and systems used by governments, NGOs, and communities must be flexible, transparent, and resilient. CiRe studies the data practices and digital infrastructures of diverse urban stakeholders, documenting and investigating tech that allows for democratic urban development and politics. CiRe also visions and co-develops future civic technologies, including GIS tools, LLMs, and more.
Climate Resilience
Climate resilience refers to cities’ ability to anticipate, respond to, and recover from environmental shocks and stressors. CiRe explores how developments in citizen science, civic technology, and alternative vehicles of engagement can impact political relationships and empower communities to produce climate data, influence environmental policy, and implement local solutions.