Drawing on previous work from 2008-2016, the 2017 project sought to leverage community capacities, knowledge, and agency in order to strengthen community representation in integrated development planning. The team aimed to document and share the histories, lived experiences, and perspectives of elders; facilitate the development of a community organization with and for youth; and analyze and contextualize quantitative data gathered through previous research with members of Mujeres Unidas.
See the 2017 report here.
To reflect the evolving, negotiated and situated nature of engaged scholarship, we seek to couple practical considerations and hands-on strategies for participatory research and insurgent planning in informal settlements with a critical perspective on our role and positionality in knowledge co-production. To ensure that a variety of voices from Los Platanitos are heard, the team developed an oral history project with community stories told by elders including Filomena Polonia (photo above). These stories are presented in video form on a dedicated website and in book form.