Photovoice in the age of social media: Helping to build participation needed for urban climate resilience?

Abstract

Nontraditional participation is increasingly called for to emphasize inclusiveness and transformation from the perspectives of affected populations for climate resilience. Photovoice, a participatory action research method, has been utilized in various fields for revealing critical matters through the local lens. Meanwhile, social network sites (SNSs) such as Facebook act as an interactive platform to raise awareness and facilitate collective activism among diverse stakeholders beyond geographical boundaries through new communication forms. Building on a conceptual review of participatory resilience, we examine the methodology of photovoice and its value in the context of non-traditional participation for climate resilience. Through visual narratives, unstructured observations, and semi-structured interviews, we investigate the ways in which photovoice integrates with social media to transform participatory resilience building. We do so through a case study of the Philippines, with an emphasis on disadvantaged populations. Specifically, this work substituted traditional and digital cameras with smartphones and established a social media group on Facebook. The integrated action-oriented approach showcases the network of participation as a mosaic, discovering nuances of engagement from local perspectives. Our article seeks to contribute to the growing literature on contemporary public participation, advocating nontraditional participation for inclusive climate resilience in the era of social media.