The 3rd City Communities: Mobility, Networks, and Collective Agency
Jeffrey Hou, University of Washington
Urban communities have long been defined as having distinct spatial and geographical boundaries. As such, community design and planning has historically focused on communities with clear spatial delineation and identities. With the advent of mobile technology and greater mobility of populations in general, new networks and communities are being formed without attributes common to their traditional counterpart. Aside from new forms of conviviality and sociability, these networks and communities have contributed to new forms of collective agency, as exemplified in recent post-disaster relief and rebuilding efforts as well as emergence of sharing and commoning practices. These efforts and practices have significant implications on how resources and knowledge can be mobilized and how urban spaces and activities can be organized in the contemporary urban context. These new forms of collective agency also suggest emerging practices of placemaking and commoning that design professionals must engage, adapt with, and learn from.