Justice, Urban Systems and Technology
May 14, 2024 2024-07-19 9:59Justice, Urban Systems and Technology
Justice, Urban Systems and Technology
Justice, Urban Systems and Technology
The constellation is an interdisciplinary research group who draw on urban studies, social psychology, science and technology studies (STS), and sociology to understand the complex interplay between technology, inequalities, and social justice within the ever-evolving landscape of urban spaces. Urbanization, while providing opportunities, has also seen rising concerns related to health, housing, education, and water, exacerbated by existing social relations of gender, caste, class, religion, and ability. The constellation aims to understand urban development through a critical lens, focusing on the processes of urbanization and globalization that shape the experiences of urban residents? Furthermore, it aims to explore questions such as understanding the challenges and possibilities of technology in enabling people’s access to health, and studying the role of public spaces in exacerbating or challenging social inequalities.
The overarching questions that guide our research are:
- How do we understand urban development through a critical lens? How have processes of urbanisation and globalisation shaped the experiences of urban residents?
- What role does the nexus between state, capital, and technology play in labour surveillance?
- What are the challenges and possibilities of technology in enabling people’s access to health?
- How does the design of public spaces in our cities exacerbate or challenge existing social inequalities?
- How might we envision a city that cares, despite the atomisation and anonymity that is inherent to cities?
Constellation Leads
Dr. Preethi Krishnan
Dr. Vidya Subramanian
Members
Dr. Namesh Killemsetty
Dr. Chetan Sinha
Projects
1. Human Development Index (HDI) for cities
We propose a “People’s HDI” focusing on resident experiences. Going beyond income and health, it will measure factors like access to technology, accessibility, safety, and community engagement. This resident-centric approach aims to identify thriving urban spaces and inform policies that prioritise well-being for all, especially the marginalised.
Preethi Krishnan, Vidya Subramanian, Namesh Killemsetty, Chetan Sinha
2. Exploring the Significance of Spaces for Urban Underprivileged Children
Through this project, we plan to examine play spaces as experienced by children from construction workers, safai karamcharis, and slum dweller families as compared to those occupying gated community parks within our cities. Without traditional public parks, economically disadvantaged children utilize alternative spaces for play around their neighbourhood, imbuing meaning into those environments, even in resource-limited contexts. We examine how environments – gated communities and alternative spaces – influence how children navigate play and community and the crucial role of city planning in children’s lives.
Namesh Killemsetty, Chetan Sinha, Preethi Krishnan, Vidya Subramanian
3. Sidestepping Aarogya Setu: Exploring Non-Adoption in India’s Covid-19 Tech Landscape
This project intends to investigate how digital interventions for health play out in an urban space, by studying the nature of non-adoption of Aarogya Setu. As the Covid-19 pandemic raged on in India, and the use of the app became mandatory in several settings (air travel, entry into some offices, etc), several people did not use the app for reasons of privacy and quality of the app, several others did not use or have cellphones and therefore could not use the app, and yet others simply did not need to use it. The use of this app in a tightly controlled situation such as the Covid-19 lockdown can provide useful insights into the public attitudes in India to the politics of technologies.
Vidya Subramanian
4. Delhi Evictions: Reshaping Space, Displacing Lives
This project investigates the socio-spatial impact of evictions in Delhi over the past decade. It explores the complex interplay between urban development, forced displacement, and global economic forces driving these evictions. Through a mixed-methods approach, the research will analyse past large-scale evictions using secondary literature. This analysis will map demographic shifts caused by these evictions and identify areas most affected. To capture the lived experiences of these evictions, the study will then delve deeper through ethnographic research in select case study slums. By engaging with communities displaced or facing imminent eviction, the project aims to capture their narratives and understand the long-term repercussions of evictions on their lives. This combined approach will shed light on the spatial dimensions of urban inequality in Delhi, revealing how evictions not only displace people but also reshape the city’s social and economic landscape.
Namesh Killemsetty
5. Claiming Care Claiming Equality
This project examines the Anganwadi as a social reproduction site where inequalities of gender, caste, and class are both reinforced and challenged. The project addresses the question: How does gender, caste and class structures influence how women claim entitlements of care from the state? Ethnographic fieldwork for this project was conducted in Anganwadis in Tamil Nadu. Primary data for this study includes (1) ethnographic notes and observations at the Anganwadis, official meetings, and rallies (2) semi-structured interviews with Anganwadi workers, mothers, Anganwadi union leaders, and state representatives. (3) archival data, including policy documents, training manuals, newsletters, government orders, and documents from the Anganwadi workers union.
Preethi Krishnan