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Community Informatics, Local Community and Conflict

Investigating Under-Researched Elements of a Developing Field of Study1

Massey University, New Zealand, I.Goodwin{at}massey.ac.nz

Conflict within local communities is an under-researched theme in Community Informatics (CI). This article therefore aims to contribute to the development of CI as a field of study by analysing forms of internal conflict within Moseley Egroup — a CI initiative developed in Moseley, Birmingham (UK). Ultimately it is argued that conflict is an inherent part of local community and is important to CI for a number of reasons. Conflict impacts on the appropriation and social shaping of internet technology by local communities, and has broader implications on the extent to which CI regenerates localities and empowers citizens. In this sense conflict is identified as a productive force, shaping and reshaping both local community and internet projects mobilized in its name. Conflict also draws attention to the contested and mutable relationship that exists in CI between the online spaces that are created and the localities they are set up to serve. It is concluded that conflict and forms of social struggle within communities should form a central part of the developing CI research agenda.

Key Words: community informatics • conflict • internet • local community • locality • online space

Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, Vol. 14, No. 4, 419-437 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1354856508094661


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