An Exercise in Problematisation

Design within Urban (Eco)Systems encourages readers to view design as a means of interrogating the relationships among humans, data, and environments. I'm not going to summarise the book, while I want to share the thoughts it sparked for me, as somebody at the crossroads of design and Science and Technology Studies (STS). The book treats the city as the main setting for examining the complexities of collective life, conceptualising it as an assemblage that renders urban coexistence both visible and politically significant. I've organised my thoughts around three injunctions placed upon contemporary cities: making urban life digital, involving the public in decisions, and rethinking how we relate to urban nature. The book draws on many social science ideas, highlighting the tension between their potential for change and the risk of reducing them to simple fixes or labels. While the book does not prescribe a definitive method to avoid such reduction, it instead opens pathways for reflection. It invites readers to explore, expand, or redirect these lines of inquiry. [First paragraph]