Recombining Place

Abstract

The lockdown response taken by many governments in flattening the curve of coronavirus infections has of course increased the reliance on digital tools to enable work (for those able to do so) and social interaction. There are emergent, somewhat contingent, and coproductive dynamics at work between platforms and urban life and space with the contextual specificities of each, no doubt, leading to different ICT-informed solutions. In South Africa, the state has taken a phased but stronghold approach with unfortunate impacts on livelihoods and food security, especially those in the informal economy and those with part-time or insecure employment. The community action network (CAN) initiative started as a means to enable neighbourhood assistance through WhatsApp groups in Cape Town. In this article, the author reflects on how this initiative reflects the early hopes of William Mitchell (and others) that saw the potential for informational spaces to become more democratic as interfaces of connection. In Cape Town, one may see Mitchell's vision fulfilled.

Realising radical potential: building community power in primary health care through Participatory Action Research

“…While a highly centralised response was initially effective in controlling spread, CHWs engaged in the process expressed serious concerns about diagnosis and treatment of other conditions, particularly HIV/AIDS and TB, and over food security. These concerns have since been echoed nationally and internationally [ 59 , 92 , 93 ]. The process enabled CHWs to raise concerns during interactions with sub-district health managers and other stakeholders within the PAR gatherings, during action planning and monitoring.…”

Using social media to build confidence in vaccines: lessons from community engagement and social science research in Africa

“…These WhatsApp groups expanded organically into a collective multimedia platform for community communication and mobilisation, including through Facebook pages and groups, use of videoconferencing platforms, and local TV and radio. These grassroots networks became a major force during the pandemic, identifying the most pressing problems and using local resources to respond to these through self-organising neighbourhood initiatives 53. This kind of initiative and others 4051 could inform the development of more bottom-up and community-led interventions for vaccination.…”

“… 46 Through its capacity to democratise participation, social media can open up the possibility of collective action that is horizontally networked rather than vertically controlled. 51 For example, Community Action Networks (CANs) emerged during the covid-19 pandemic in South Africa 52 53 to organise community assistance through WhatsApp groups. The networks used WhatsApp groups to assess their communities’ needs, brainstorm what support could be provided, and coordinate who could volunteer to help.…”

“…These grassroots networks became a major force during the pandemic, identifying the most pressing problems and using local resources to respond to these through self-organising neighbourhood initiatives. 53 This kind of initiative and others 40 51 could inform the development of more bottom-up and community-led interventions for vaccination.…”

How community medical facilities can promote resilient community constructions under the background of pandemics

“…As a typical node, the community, the basic unit of urban space and the cellular organization of the organism, 41 can participate in the formation of urban populations, spaces and organization networks because of its universality. 42 The networking of community medical facilities has two connotations. On the one hand, as the core of the communities’ defence system, it becomes an important node of the urban public health network constructed by the government to effectively prevent and respond to emergencies by establishing community basic unit self-governance; while on the other hand, it connects individuals, families and communities, as well as connects and associates each basic node of pandemic prevention and control, and builds a community-level pandemic prevention and control support network by guiding residents' health behaviours.…”