Our approach

In the EcoDA project, we propose an open-source approach to urban resilience. This approach has emerged through linking resilience theory and practice with the commons and open-source (commons-based peer production) movements.

The open-source approach acknowledges that achieving greater resilience for our cities requires a process of radical urban transformation through which urban systems change fundamentally. It also recognises that citizens and communities are the key in driving this kind of transformation and that processes of ‘commoning’ resilience practices can be a viable vehicle for urban transformation.

Acknowledging the need to bring together knowledge and experiences of resilience, the EcoDA research was developed within a co-production framework with four key principles:

  • It is a ‘situated’ process, which acknowledges the ‘local’ as an important site for experimentation and producing knowledge.

  • It is a mediated process by ‘intervening’ in local contexts through practitioners. These practitioners have an awareness of local resilience needs and have established relationships with local communities over time.

  • It is a networked and relational process, which facilitates connections and communication between various groups.

  • It is an open-source process, which acknowledges the collective ownership of the knowledge produced and the means for knowledge production. The digital tools prototyped and the platform created as part of EcoDA are located in the digital commons, and their production and use represent a way of ‘commoning’.

Digital co-production

In addition to these research principles, the co-production of the EcoDA digital tools has been guided by the following considerations:

  1. Modularity – Use many software tools to build a digital prototype

  2. Instability – Is a strategy for resilience

  3. Sociality – The functionality of software is ‘co-produced’