[Air-L] Call for Abstracts: Mapping Public Space through Participatory Data Narratives and Cartographies - (STS Conference, Milano)

[angeles briones]

Hello everyone, best wishes for the new year.

We are excited to announce the Call for Abstracts for the upcoming 10th STS
Italia Conference “Technoscience for Good: Designing, Caring and
Reconfiguring” which will be held on 11-13 June 2025 at the Politecnico di
Milano, Milan (Italy) – (
https://stsitalia.org/news/10th-sts-italia-conference-technoscience-for-good-call-for-abstracts-published-deadline-february-3-2025/
).

In particular, we invite you to submit an abstract to our panel #71:
*Mapping Public Space through Participatory Data Narratives and
Cartographies* (Convenors: Sonia Bergamo, Enrico Petrilli, Francesca
Valsecchi, and Ángeles Briones).

(further details here:
https://stsitalia.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/71.Mapping-Public-Space-through-Participatory-Data-Narratives-and-Cartographies-ID_114.pdf
).

This panel explores participatory cartographies as critical tools for
implementing a scientifically informed approach to data, particularly
within the Science and Technology Studies (STS) framework for describing
and analysing public space. These areas are analyzed not only for their
function as physical environments for social interactions but also as
symbolic representations of the commons.

Participatory cartography approach emphasizes the involvement of local
communities in the creation and use of maps, including the data collection
and the construction of mapping narratives. Such an approach provides a
framework for STS to build upon the instrument of STS while incorporating
the social sciences’ critical perspectives, fostering an inclusive,
equitable, and context-sensitive understanding of spatial data.
Participatory cartography challenges traditional divides between
researchers and subjects by empowering communities and recognizing their
unique knowledge and experiences. It advances representations that extend
beyond mere geographical metrics, leveraging the combined strengths of
quantitative and qualitative data for comprehensive, systemic insights. In
doing so, it enhances the relevance and accuracy of spatial data,
supporting a richer portrayal of public spaces.

Participatory cartography significantly supports STS data management. It
integrates local knowledge and community engagement throughout data
collection and analysis. This approach champions open access to data, data
empowerment, and community ownership, positioning data as a tool for
informed public policymaking.

The goal of the panel is to explore and document the complex entanglements
within public spaces, examining both human and non-human agencies in the
collective knowledge domain. Special emphasis will be given to marginalized
practices and “stigmatized actors” (such as unhoused individuals, youth,
non-human species, and non-normative social practices) often sidelined in
policy discourse. Employing a diffractive methodology, we seek
contributions that incorporate both human and non-human actors - including
psychoactive substances, informal urban infrastructures, agents of gray
economies, and ecological entities - offering nuanced perspectives on the
environments they shape. Presentations are encouraged to promote epistemic
justice by reimagining public spaces as inclusive, adaptive, and creative
environments that address diverse needs across human and non-human domains.

Abstracts (500 words max) are due by February 3, 2025.

Further information about the submission process and key deadlines can be
found here: https://stsitalia.org/call-for-abstracts/

We look forward to receiving your contributions and seeing you in Milano!


Best Wishes

Sonia Bergamo, Università degli studi di Milano - Bicocca

Enrico Petrilli, Università degli Studi di Torino

Francesca Valsecchi, Tongji University, Shanghai

Ángeles Briones, Politecnico di Milano





-- 
-- 
Ángeles Briones R.

Ph.D. in Design @ Politecnico di Milano - DensityDesign Research Lab,
Dipartimento di Design
www.densitydesign.org



-- 
-- 
Ángeles Briones R.

Ph.D. in Design @ Politecnico di Milano - DensityDesign Research Lab,
Dipartimento di Design
www.densitydesign.org
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