In this paper, we investigate how infrastructure and care shape commoner subjectivities. In our r... more In this paper, we investigate how infrastructure and care shape commoner subjectivities. In our research into an urban youth farm in Aotearoa New Zealand, we heard and observed profound tales of growth and transformation among youth participants. Not only were our interviewees narrating stories of individual transformation (of themselves and others), but they also spoke of transformations in the way they engaged with the world around them, including the land and garden and its many species and ecological systems, the food system more generally, the wider community and their co-workers. Such transformations were both individual and collective, having more in common with the collective caring subject homines curans than the autonomous, rational workready subject of homo economicus. Using postcapitalist theory on commons, commoning and subjectivity, we argue that these socio-affective encounters with more-than-human commons enabled collective, caring commoner subjectivities to emerge and to be cultivated through collective care in place. We suggest that the commons can be thought of as an infrastructure of care for the counter-city, providing the conditions for the emergence and cultivation of collective caring urban subjects.
Climate change is already having adverse impacts, with place- and problem-based implications due ... more Climate change is already having adverse impacts, with place- and problem-based implications due to higher temperatures, prolonged droughts, and more frequent extremes. Despite uncertainty about the full extent of future change, adaptation will be required. Adaptation pathways (APs) planning is increasingly used as a methodological approach to identify, evaluate, and sequence adaptation options over time. Pathways link critical decisions to future conditions, providing a road map to support planning in the face of uncertainty. This systematic review identifies and assesses the rapidly growing APs literature, focusing on its definition, and application in diverse contexts. Using bibliometric and thematic analysis, we highlight scholarly networks driving innovation in this area, characterise theoretical and conceptual differences in framing, and derive insights for best practice. Results show the evolution in interpretation, framing and practice; from an initial focus on managing unce...
Within geography and beyond there has been much discussion about how to best respond to the mount... more Within geography and beyond there has been much discussion about how to best respond to the mounting inequalities, pressing environmental concerns and socio-economic precarity that appear to characterise current neoliberal capitalist societies. Kathi Weeks (2011) suggests that contemporary forms of precarity are linked to dominant discourses around waged labour which she terms the ‘work society’. This work society is characterised by three inter-related expectations that frame waged work as morally necessary, as the primary right to citizenship, and as the main way to participate in wider society. Weeks argues that these expectations have increased since the global financial crisis, yet paradoxically there are fewer secure and meaningful waged jobs available. In response to these socio-economic and environmental concerns, feminist autonomous geographers like J-K Gibson-Graham (2006) argue that the best way to respond is to ‘take back the economy’ at local scales. Rather than ‘overt...
Managing unwanted pests and diseases is a growing concern. Recent shifts in
state-led biosecurit... more Managing unwanted pests and diseases is a growing concern. Recent shifts in
state-led biosecurity policy have seen a movement towards ‘shared responsibility’ between government, industry and communities. We use social practice
theory to show how materials, skills and meanings come together to shape
how people understand the spread of myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii), an
unwanted disease in Aotearoa New Zealand. We show how ‘shared responsibility’ has emerged in the shift from a government-led incursion response to
myrtle rust, to passive disease reporting using iNaturalist. We offer a reflective
aid to help biosecurity practitioners better consider participatory practices for
plant health.
National Science Challenge 11, Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities. Project: Delivering Urban... more National Science Challenge 11, Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities. Project: Delivering Urban Wellbeing through Transformative Community Enterprise. July 2019.Urban communities around the world are using farming and gardening to promote food security, social inclusion and wellbeing (Turner, Henryks and Pearson, 2011). In the New Zealand city of Christchurch, a recently formed social enterprise known as Cultivate currently operates two such urban farms. The farms, which use vacant urban land and green waste to grow and distribute locally grown food, are based around an innovative community form of economy that provides care and training for urban youth. The farms provide a therapeutic environment that is co-created by youth interns, urban farmers, social workers and community volunteers. Cultivate’s urban farms are a valuable example of a creative urban wellbeing initiative that may be useful for other organisations seeking to promote youth wellbeing, hauora,1 social development ...
In this paper, we investigate how infrastructure and care shape commoner subjectivities. In our r... more In this paper, we investigate how infrastructure and care shape commoner subjectivities. In our research into an urban youth farm in Aotearoa New Zealand, we heard and observed profound tales of growth and transformation among youth participants. Not only were our interviewees narrating stories of individual transformation (of themselves and others), but they also spoke of transformations in the way they engaged with the world around them, including the land and garden and its many species and ecological systems, the food system more generally, the wider community and their co-workers. Such transformations were both individual and collective, having more in common with the collective caring subject homines curans than the autonomous, rational workready subject of homo economicus. Using postcapitalist theory on commons, commoning and subjectivity, we argue that these socio-affective encounters with more-than-human commons enabled collective, caring commoner subjectivities to emerge and to be cultivated through collective care in place. We suggest that the commons can be thought of as an infrastructure of care for the counter-city, providing the conditions for the emergence and cultivation of collective caring urban subjects.
Climate change is already having adverse impacts, with place- and problem-based implications due ... more Climate change is already having adverse impacts, with place- and problem-based implications due to higher temperatures, prolonged droughts, and more frequent extremes. Despite uncertainty about the full extent of future change, adaptation will be required. Adaptation pathways (APs) planning is increasingly used as a methodological approach to identify, evaluate, and sequence adaptation options over time. Pathways link critical decisions to future conditions, providing a road map to support planning in the face of uncertainty. This systematic review identifies and assesses the rapidly growing APs literature, focusing on its definition, and application in diverse contexts. Using bibliometric and thematic analysis, we highlight scholarly networks driving innovation in this area, characterise theoretical and conceptual differences in framing, and derive insights for best practice. Results show the evolution in interpretation, framing and practice; from an initial focus on managing unce...
Within geography and beyond there has been much discussion about how to best respond to the mount... more Within geography and beyond there has been much discussion about how to best respond to the mounting inequalities, pressing environmental concerns and socio-economic precarity that appear to characterise current neoliberal capitalist societies. Kathi Weeks (2011) suggests that contemporary forms of precarity are linked to dominant discourses around waged labour which she terms the ‘work society’. This work society is characterised by three inter-related expectations that frame waged work as morally necessary, as the primary right to citizenship, and as the main way to participate in wider society. Weeks argues that these expectations have increased since the global financial crisis, yet paradoxically there are fewer secure and meaningful waged jobs available. In response to these socio-economic and environmental concerns, feminist autonomous geographers like J-K Gibson-Graham (2006) argue that the best way to respond is to ‘take back the economy’ at local scales. Rather than ‘overt...
Managing unwanted pests and diseases is a growing concern. Recent shifts in
state-led biosecurit... more Managing unwanted pests and diseases is a growing concern. Recent shifts in
state-led biosecurity policy have seen a movement towards ‘shared responsibility’ between government, industry and communities. We use social practice
theory to show how materials, skills and meanings come together to shape
how people understand the spread of myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii), an
unwanted disease in Aotearoa New Zealand. We show how ‘shared responsibility’ has emerged in the shift from a government-led incursion response to
myrtle rust, to passive disease reporting using iNaturalist. We offer a reflective
aid to help biosecurity practitioners better consider participatory practices for
plant health.
National Science Challenge 11, Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities. Project: Delivering Urban... more National Science Challenge 11, Building Better Homes, Towns and Cities. Project: Delivering Urban Wellbeing through Transformative Community Enterprise. July 2019.Urban communities around the world are using farming and gardening to promote food security, social inclusion and wellbeing (Turner, Henryks and Pearson, 2011). In the New Zealand city of Christchurch, a recently formed social enterprise known as Cultivate currently operates two such urban farms. The farms, which use vacant urban land and green waste to grow and distribute locally grown food, are based around an innovative community form of economy that provides care and training for urban youth. The farms provide a therapeutic environment that is co-created by youth interns, urban farmers, social workers and community volunteers. Cultivate’s urban farms are a valuable example of a creative urban wellbeing initiative that may be useful for other organisations seeking to promote youth wellbeing, hauora,1 social development ...
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Papers by Gradon Diprose
state-led biosecurity policy have seen a movement towards ‘shared responsibility’ between government, industry and communities. We use social practice
theory to show how materials, skills and meanings come together to shape
how people understand the spread of myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii), an
unwanted disease in Aotearoa New Zealand. We show how ‘shared responsibility’ has emerged in the shift from a government-led incursion response to
myrtle rust, to passive disease reporting using iNaturalist. We offer a reflective
aid to help biosecurity practitioners better consider participatory practices for
plant health.
state-led biosecurity policy have seen a movement towards ‘shared responsibility’ between government, industry and communities. We use social practice
theory to show how materials, skills and meanings come together to shape
how people understand the spread of myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii), an
unwanted disease in Aotearoa New Zealand. We show how ‘shared responsibility’ has emerged in the shift from a government-led incursion response to
myrtle rust, to passive disease reporting using iNaturalist. We offer a reflective
aid to help biosecurity practitioners better consider participatory practices for
plant health.