Read the chapter: Wolff, E., Prescott, M., et al. 2024, Chapter 8, Insurgent Planning Practice

Summary

By Dr Erich Wolff

Rapid urbanisation, inadequate drainage systems, and the city's low-lying coastal geography make floods a major challenge in Makassar, Indonesia. A new approach through the RISE program is putting communities at the centre of shaping solutions.

Citizen science is an innovative way of studying floods through meaningful partnerships. We conducted a community-centred flood-monitoring project within the RISE program that shows how we can reshape the relationship between scientists and society.

When RISE began in 2017, The environment in most of the settlements participating in RISE was unstudied, making it challenging to design constructed wetlands. Recognising the value of local knowledge and experience, the team partnered with community members to map floods and understand how the residents of Makassar interact with water. Between 2018 and 2020, residents captured over 5,000 photos of floods, providing valuable insights for scientists and engineers.

This collaborative experiment was facilitated by the strong bonds between RISE fieldworkers and communities. In addition to generating critical data, the project revealed how citizen science can be a platform for bonding and sharing knowledge, enabling communities to contribute to shaping solutions for their environments. The project also allowed us to reimagine the role of citizens in increasingly connected, digital cities.

These experiences showed us that participatory flood monitoring can not only be an accessible and engaging way of doing research, but also an opportunity to give voice to communities, creating opportunities for empowerment and collaborative knowledge production.

Read more:

Wolff, E., Prescott, M., Ramirez-Lovering, D., From data collection to citizenship: Insurgent planning in a citizen science flood-monitoring project in Makassar, Indonesia, in  (2024).

Wolff, E., French, M., Ilhamsyah, N., Sawailau, M. J., & Ramírez-Lovering, D. (2021). Collaborating with Communities: Citizen Science Flood Monitoring in Urban Informal Settlements. Urban Planning, 6(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v6i4.4648

Contact Erich Wolff for more information (e.wolff1@uu.nl).