Zemnukhova L., Rudenko N., Sivkov D. Digital Urban Studies: Collaboration Problems with Patterns of Coordination. Sociological Review, 2019, Vol. 18, Issue 4, pp. 107–129

Текст статьи на сайте журнала URL: https://sociologica.hse.ru/data/2019/12/30/1511023762/SocOboz_18_4_107-129_Zemnukhova_et_al.pdf (дата обращения 16.01.2020)

Abstract

Inside urban digital projects, clashes occur between scholars (urbanists, anthropologists, sociologists, geographers, etc.) and technical specialists (programmers, data analysts, web developers, etc.). These clashes take the form of misunderstanding from the lack of a single language, and the criticism of the normative methodologies of each other, both of which allows us to highlight typical problems. From the materials of in-depth interviews with representatives of urban projects dealing with digital methods and data, we show that the projects create two main directions to resolve problems and coordinate participants from different epistemological traditions: one direction is finding a common language, which is a more pragmatic mode of coordination through “border objects.” We demonstrate these two areas using the example of working with data and methods within interdisciplinary teams. In addition, we single out five patterns of coordination between urban scholars and programmers (a mixture of expertise, collaboration, formal management, temporary assembly, and the orders). Their predominance depends on the presence of institutional pressure, the organizational division of labor, the availability of financial resources for hiring technical specialists and managers, as well as a strong leader who determines the situation.