Data Collection as Activism: Grassroots Canvasing after Hurricane Sandy

• In Event: Civic Infrastructure & Democratic Epistemologies

Abstract

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, both grassroots responses such as Occupy Sandy and governing institutions such as the City of New York conducted door to door canvassing surveys in an effort to match immediate needs and aid. This presentation investigates how Occupy Sandy used this data collection to extend its view of a better pre-storm world through how canvassers asked questions, what questions were asked, and how they tied data to action. For example, data collectors exercised "clipboard politics" where the survey was a shared object between relief worker and resident for both parties to read together, side by side. They asked about community participatory budgeting for FEMA money, job security, community organizing, and access to health care. These questions and the ensuing conversations were a fulfillment of their mandate to use the storm as an opportunity for social and economic justice for problems that existed before Sandy. As a foil, The City of New York canvased residents by contracting the National Guard who wore full army fatigues and, initially, semi-automatic weapons. They asked about the failure to evacuate, property damage, and where people sought information during the storm. The survey was designed to build better storm warning systems and evaluate damage in financial terms to return New York City to pre-storm conditions.

Note: This research is part of an ongoing project to design best practices of grassroots data collection with and for disaster-affected communities.

Author

• Max Liboiron, Memorial University of Newfoundland