Civic Care in Place: Subtle Technologies and Community Stewardship in a Marginalized Context

Anna R.L. Carter; Austin L. Toombs; Eleanor Starkey; Chukwubunkem Okezie; Sarah Theisz; Thomas E. Fenno, III; Isabel Edwards

doi:10.1145/3772318.3791019

Civic Care in Place: Subtle Technologies and Community Stewardship in a Marginalized Context

Anna R.L. Carter, Austin L. Toombs, Eleanor Starkey, Chukwubunkem Okezie, Sarah Theisz, Thomas E. Fenno, III, Isabel Edwards

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

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Abstract

How do communities sustain public spaces when formal infrastructure fails? In Stanley, UK a post-industrial town facing infrastructural neglect and climate-related flooding, residents sustain their environment through micro-acts that formal participation metrics fail to capture. Through surveys, interviews and a diary study conducted in partnership with Wear Rivers Trust, a charity advancing Nature-based Solutions (NbS), we examine how communities perceive and enact care under conditions of environmental precarity and low institutional trust. We found that care practices are embedded in daily routines and social ties, shaped by both pride and frustration, and sustained through informal networks. We contribute: (1) empirical insights into everyday civic care as emotional, negotiated, and place-based; and (2) a framework of six design dimensions, embeddedness, visibility, reciprocity, autonomy with support, coordination without formalization, and frustration as data — to guide HCI/CSCW in developing respectful, lightweight, and situated systems that amplify rather than replace community capacities.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	CHI '26: Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System
Editors	Nuria Oliver, David A. Shamma, Heloisa Candello, Pablo Cesar, Pedro Lopes, Alessandro Bozzon, Thomas Kosch, Vera Liao, Xiaojuan Ma, Valentino Artizzu, Fiona Draxler, Gustavo Lopez, Anke V. Reinschluessel, Xin Tong, Phoebe O. Toups Dugas
Place of Publication	New York, USA
Publisher	ACM
Pages	1-24
Number of pages	24
ISBN (Electronic)	9798400722783
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3772318.3791019
Publication status	Published - 13 Apr 2026

Keywords

civic care
community stewardship
marginalized communities
public space
participatory design
implicit participation
situated design
civic technology

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10.1145/3772318.3791019Licence: CC BY

3772318.3791019Final published version, 5.4 MBLicence: CC BY

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Carter, A. R. L., Toombs, A. L., Starkey, E., Okezie, C., Theisz, S., E. Fenno, III, T., & Edwards, I. (2026). Civic Care in Place: Subtle Technologies and Community Stewardship in a Marginalized Context. In N. Oliver, D. A. Shamma, H. Candello, P. Cesar, P. Lopes, A. Bozzon, T. Kosch, V. Liao, X. Ma, V. Artizzu, F. Draxler, G. Lopez, A. V. Reinschluessel, X. Tong, & P. O. Toups Dugas (Eds.), CHI '26: Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System (pp. 1-24). Article 665 ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3772318.3791019

Carter, Anna R.L. ; Toombs, Austin L. ; Starkey, Eleanor et al. / Civic Care in Place: Subtle Technologies and Community Stewardship in a Marginalized Context. CHI '26: Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System. editor / Nuria Oliver ; David A. Shamma ; Heloisa Candello ; Pablo Cesar ; Pedro Lopes ; Alessandro Bozzon ; Thomas Kosch ; Vera Liao ; Xiaojuan Ma ; Valentino Artizzu ; Fiona Draxler ; Gustavo Lopez ; Anke V. Reinschluessel ; Xin Tong ; Phoebe O. Toups Dugas. New York, USA : ACM, 2026. pp. 1-24

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title = "Civic Care in Place: Subtle Technologies and Community Stewardship in a Marginalized Context",

abstract = "How do communities sustain public spaces when formal infrastructure fails? In Stanley, UK a post-industrial town facing infrastructural neglect and climate-related flooding, residents sustain their environment through micro-acts that formal participation metrics fail to capture. Through surveys, interviews and a diary study conducted in partnership with Wear Rivers Trust, a charity advancing Nature-based Solutions (NbS), we examine how communities perceive and enact care under conditions of environmental precarity and low institutional trust. We found that care practices are embedded in daily routines and social ties, shaped by both pride and frustration, and sustained through informal networks. We contribute: (1) empirical insights into everyday civic care as emotional, negotiated, and place-based; and (2) a framework of six design dimensions, embeddedness, visibility, reciprocity, autonomy with support, coordination without formalization, and frustration as data — to guide HCI/CSCW in developing respectful, lightweight, and situated systems that amplify rather than replace community capacities.",

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author = "Carter, \{Anna R.L.\} and Toombs, \{Austin L.\} and Eleanor Starkey and Chukwubunkem Okezie and Sarah Theisz and \{E. Fenno, III\}, Thomas and Isabel Edwards",

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booktitle = "CHI '26: Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System",

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Carter, ARL, Toombs, AL, Starkey, E, Okezie, C, Theisz, S, E. Fenno, III, T & Edwards, I 2026, Civic Care in Place: Subtle Technologies and Community Stewardship in a Marginalized Context. in N Oliver, DA Shamma, H Candello, P Cesar, P Lopes, A Bozzon, T Kosch, V Liao, X Ma, V Artizzu, F Draxler, G Lopez, AV Reinschluessel, X Tong & PO Toups Dugas (eds), CHI '26: Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System., 665, ACM, New York, USA, pp. 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1145/3772318.3791019

Civic Care in Place: Subtle Technologies and Community Stewardship in a Marginalized Context. / Carter, Anna R.L.; Toombs, Austin L.; Starkey, Eleanor et al.
CHI '26: Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System. ed. / Nuria Oliver; David A. Shamma; Heloisa Candello; Pablo Cesar; Pedro Lopes; Alessandro Bozzon; Thomas Kosch; Vera Liao; Xiaojuan Ma; Valentino Artizzu; Fiona Draxler; Gustavo Lopez; Anke V. Reinschluessel; Xin Tong; Phoebe O. Toups Dugas. New York, USA: ACM, 2026. p. 1-24 665.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › peer-review

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T1 - Civic Care in Place: Subtle Technologies and Community Stewardship in a Marginalized Context

AU - Carter, Anna R.L.

AU - Toombs, Austin L.

AU - Starkey, Eleanor

AU - Okezie, Chukwubunkem

AU - Theisz, Sarah

AU - E. Fenno, III, Thomas

AU - Edwards, Isabel

PY - 2026/4/13

Y1 - 2026/4/13

N2 - How do communities sustain public spaces when formal infrastructure fails? In Stanley, UK a post-industrial town facing infrastructural neglect and climate-related flooding, residents sustain their environment through micro-acts that formal participation metrics fail to capture. Through surveys, interviews and a diary study conducted in partnership with Wear Rivers Trust, a charity advancing Nature-based Solutions (NbS), we examine how communities perceive and enact care under conditions of environmental precarity and low institutional trust. We found that care practices are embedded in daily routines and social ties, shaped by both pride and frustration, and sustained through informal networks. We contribute: (1) empirical insights into everyday civic care as emotional, negotiated, and place-based; and (2) a framework of six design dimensions, embeddedness, visibility, reciprocity, autonomy with support, coordination without formalization, and frustration as data — to guide HCI/CSCW in developing respectful, lightweight, and situated systems that amplify rather than replace community capacities.

AB - How do communities sustain public spaces when formal infrastructure fails? In Stanley, UK a post-industrial town facing infrastructural neglect and climate-related flooding, residents sustain their environment through micro-acts that formal participation metrics fail to capture. Through surveys, interviews and a diary study conducted in partnership with Wear Rivers Trust, a charity advancing Nature-based Solutions (NbS), we examine how communities perceive and enact care under conditions of environmental precarity and low institutional trust. We found that care practices are embedded in daily routines and social ties, shaped by both pride and frustration, and sustained through informal networks. We contribute: (1) empirical insights into everyday civic care as emotional, negotiated, and place-based; and (2) a framework of six design dimensions, embeddedness, visibility, reciprocity, autonomy with support, coordination without formalization, and frustration as data — to guide HCI/CSCW in developing respectful, lightweight, and situated systems that amplify rather than replace community capacities.

KW - civic care

KW - community stewardship

KW - marginalized communities

KW - public space

KW - participatory design

KW - implicit participation

KW - situated design

KW - civic technology

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U2 - 10.1145/3772318.3791019

DO - 10.1145/3772318.3791019

M3 - Conference contribution

SP - 1

EP - 24

BT - CHI '26: Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System

A2 - Oliver, Nuria

A2 - Shamma, David A.

A2 - Candello, Heloisa

A2 - Cesar, Pablo

A2 - Lopes, Pedro

A2 - Bozzon, Alessandro

A2 - Kosch, Thomas

A2 - Liao, Vera

A2 - Ma, Xiaojuan

A2 - Artizzu, Valentino

A2 - Draxler, Fiona

A2 - Lopez, Gustavo

A2 - Reinschluessel, Anke V.

A2 - Tong, Xin

A2 - Toups Dugas, Phoebe O.

PB - ACM

CY - New York, USA

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Carter ARL, Toombs AL, Starkey E, Okezie C, Theisz S, E. Fenno, III T et al. Civic Care in Place: Subtle Technologies and Community Stewardship in a Marginalized Context. In Oliver N, Shamma DA, Candello H, Cesar P, Lopes P, Bozzon A, Kosch T, Liao V, Ma X, Artizzu V, Draxler F, Lopez G, Reinschluessel AV, Tong X, Toups Dugas PO, editors, CHI '26: Proceedings of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System. New York, USA: ACM. 2026. p. 1-24. 665 doi: 10.1145/3772318.3791019

Civic Care in Place: Subtle Technologies and Community Stewardship in a Marginalized Context

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