Digital Equity + Sustainability Climate Rituals in Miami, FL USA
Allison Rich
Climate LosS Rituals to increase Digital equity
Developing community resilience for climate loss with rituals led by communities that experience structural violence from
environmental injustice.
In a digital ecosystem of catastrophe, doom scrolling, and sensationalism we explore sustainable rituals to support digital collective care.
Digital discourse on climate change must shift to empower visibility and adaptations or equity divides for resiliency will increase.
IN+ principle exploration:
[sustainability]
The project “Miami Climate Rituals” approaches sustainability as both environmental and social, as well as the long-term need to increase digital diversity and the needs of digital equity efforts.
It also embraces a zero-waste model for workshop materials and space at Vizcaya Gardens which is losing land to sea level rise. It seeks to increase sustainable ecological and human health protections by creating rituals to support Miami Dade County’s 2.7 million residents. Expanding digital adaptations for sustainability and responsiveness through technology are essential for community resilience.
Digital Care for Climate Responsiveness
Digital community resilience to adapt to climate change by exploring the interconnected nature of social, environmental, and digital inequity. Sustainability is also about community care through the creation of spaces to share digital resources to address climate equity divides and foster frontline community engagement.
There’s a need to grow and sustain climate visibility in public digital spaces outside of social media divides and into digital community spaces unrelated to climate change. There’s a need to expand digital infrastructure for climate adaptation inequity with creative information systems.
[sustainability]
In response to the local digital landscape of denialism, sensationalism, or invisibility of climate hope, we explore how to sustain discourse to increase community resiliency for care and responsiveness through rituals about climate loss.
Exploring digital social sustainability with climate discourse that can grow digital access to adapt through a participatory approach to cultivate a sense of ownership and responsibility within the community
[sustainability]
Community Co-eXPLORATION
Climate Change Engagement
Actively discussing new information not accessible in social digital spaces and its implications for their lives and communities. Discussions centered on environmental, social, and political sustainability.
Digital Equity
Sharing experiences and challenges in accessing digital information, identifying inequities, and learning to create a repository of shared rituals to foster a sense of responsibility to address digital inequity.
Rituals' for Climate Loss
The rituals, informed by the community's understanding of climate change in digital spaces, provided solace, support, and collective responsiveness
[sustainability]
COMMUNITY FACT SHEET
WORKSHOP FLYER
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Discussion Questions:
- What changes do you see happening in Miami?
- Do you see climate change in Miami discussed online or in digital spaces?
- How do you perceive climate change?
- Do you perceive inequalities related to climate change in your community? How does finding out new information about climate change make you feel? How might digital spaces help you to process climate loss?
- What does digital inequity mean to you?
- What do you think a digital responses to climate loss could or should include?
SURVEY QUESTIONS
Miami Climate Loss Rituals Survey
On a scale of 1-10, how concerned are you about climate change in Miami?
(1- Not at all concerned, 10- Extremely concerned)
What emotions arise when you think about climate change in Miami?
(e.g., fear, anger, grief, hope, outrage, excitement, indifference)
Do you encounter discussions about climate change online or in digital spaces?
(If yes, please name specific platforms or topics seen)
On a scale of 1-10, how strongly do you believe that collective rituals can foster a sense of community and belonging in digital spaces?
(1- Not at all, 10- Very much so)
On a scale of 1-10, how strongly do you feel that digital rituals can amplify marginalized voices or connect communities to climate visibility?
(1- Not at all, 10- Very much so)
RESPONSE EXAMPLES
What emotions arise when you think about climate change in Miami?
Sadness, anxiety, discouragement, awareness, fear, hope, urgency, fear, anger at developers,
Frustration, sadness, confusion, fear, somber, fear, grief, anger, hope,
how can I help more?,
life is complex and climate change is a lot
SURVEY RESPONSES
digital [in]equity
[Sustainability]
- Community Engagement The project engaged a diverse community across socioeconomic, cultural, and racial backgrounds with ages ranging from 22 to 71 years old who engaged with silos of digital communities.
- Defining Digital Equity Recognizing that the concept of digital equity was new to many, the project explained it to emphasize how digital access can impact health and resilience.
- Balancing Remote and In-Person Interaction Initially planned as a remote workshop to increase equity in participation during extreme heat, the project adapted to community preference for in-person connection and recording rituals.
DIGITAL [IN]Equity
- Addressing Information Gaps Recognizing that most participants had not knowingly encountered diverse digital climate conversations, the project shared factual information with an artist led conversation about climate change to increase equity in accessing resilience information
- Fostering Digital Engagement Participants shared ritual recordings through social media, email, and phone to increase digital engagement and to support collective care as extreme weather events increase
- Inclusive Individual Actions Individual rituals developed to empower increase diverse digital engagement and contribute to a more inclusive digital environment by expanding technology use for digital civic engagement, especially among seniors or people who felt they lacked expertise to speak in digital spaces
DIGITAL [IN]Equity
- Highlighting Digital Inequity The workshop raised awareness about digital inequity in accessing resilience information and discourse, which was a relatively novel concept in this community. The concept of climate rituals was co-created through interviews with partners working directly on climate inequity
- Promoting Individual Action Participants expressed a desire to learn individual actions to increase digital information and responsiveness to climate loss and a need to grow digital connectivity grounded in collective care like sensory based rituals
- Connecting Beyond Algorithms The project highlighted the need to connect outside of algorithms that divided climate knowledge into identity-based digital ecosystems to increase access civic discourse and sustain community responsiveness.
Did it [not] make sense or led to an entirely new conversation about something else?
The idea of regional digital inequity on climate change was new. Conversations explored how the lack of digital information on climate is increasing social anxiety and promoting structural violence like climate gentrification and disinvestment in community information. How existing inequity and the systems digital media is experienced through informs the feeling of relevancy of climate loss.
The absence of visibility of climate change in digital and community spaces or practices to process changing ecosystems contributes to disengagement, inequity, anxiety, and fear of collective unknown partly due to the digital invisibilit.
There was a true joy to create between intergenerational community members that were segregated on digital media, the space informining climate knowledge.
critical insights from your project
If digital discourse on climate change does not shift to empower rituals for care and responsiveness, equity divides may increase and be determined by capital to adapt or respond.
There are only 15 years to achieve a 3.06 F increase in temperature which humans have never existed in. Every decade, Miami’s average temperature is warming by 0.6 °F which is nearly double the global average.
In a community experiencing climate loss, digital access to tools for climate responsiveness are limited
critical insights from your project
Digital rituals can play a role in behavioral adaptations to reduce inequity of structural violence from climate change
Miami will experience more extreme heat events more often. Heat exposure affects health. Ice can save lives when someone experiences a heat health event and the rituals can teach people about practices to reduce the health effects of heat.
Digital infrastructure for information related to climate change will become a determinant of health through digital access to information and community resilience. Digital warning systems are needed to increase knowledge of how to respond and adapt to Earth’s new climate.
critical insights
Governments can play a key role in dismantling these digital information divides and fostering equity through visibility tools and data-driven resources that support community and individual planning.
Future steps could involve developing media that connect climate rituals in public spaces with digital platforms, utilizing data to highlight areas vulnerable to extreme heat or flooding, and promoting accessible resources for community cooling and safety.
Establishing partnerships with organizations connected to grassroots communities proved difficult due to the lack of regional infrastructure linking digital equity and sustainability initiatives. Many institutions, particularly those focused on digital or sustainability art, prioritized wanting more finances to support a workshop over potential community benefits and may gate keep access to climate loss resources. This highlights a critical need to expand digital infrastructure for climate responsiveness and collective care into new spaces, particularly within marginalized communities where awareness of climate loss and access to adaptation resources are limited.
critical insights from your project
Ecological issues related to climate change are framed to encourage digital discouragement even when community and organizations invest in digital information sharing.
There was real tension initially between communities that did not interact in digital spaces, but through the workshop, the tension became intergenerational learning about digital tools.
Digital discourse on climate loss is rare and often excludes inequity frameworks or tools to protect people at increased risks.
Sustainability and digital art are hot topics in Miami but resources reach a limited audience determined by siloed digital ecosystems by socio political identities.
critical insights
Miami + CLIMATE LOSS
- Community-driven approach is vital: Actively involving the community in interpreting information, sharing perspectives, and co-creating solutions led to more effective and sustainable outcomes.
- Digital equity is crucial for resilience: Addressing the digital divide and ensuring access to information is essential for building community resilience, especially in the face of climate change.
- Sustainability should be multifaceted: Sustainability encompasses environmental, social, and economic dimensions, and should be integrated into all project phases.
- Partnerships amplify impact: Collaborating with environmental, academic, and governmental partners can help broaden the project's reach and impact, particularly for vulnerable communities.
- Rituals can foster resilience: The development of rituals or practices for processing climate loss proved to be an effective way to build collective resilience and promote community well-being.
project outcomes
02
Objective | Outcomes Achieved |
Explore Digital Climate Grief in Miami | Share experiences to learn about creative collective digital care by exploring perceptions of sustainability in Miami, document perspectives |
Develop digital tools to support climate responsiveness. | Explore, share, or create digital rituals for climate grief informed by personal experiences. Identified specific inequities experienced by diverse community members through shared experiences and challenges in accessing digital information, informing more targeted interventions. |
Artistic and cultural integration for increased digital equity | Use creatives and educators to inform community learning on digital equity and climate grief support or rituals. Co-created rituals and practices to process climate loss, fostering a sense of collective resilience and shared responsibility that can increase diversity in digital climate dialogues and information access. |
project outcomes
02
Objective | Outcomes Achieved |
Ensure long-term viability of project outcomes and impacts on digital equity | Community co-exploration of sustainability through workshops and discussions on digital needs to sustain responsiveness for collective discourse and care in digital spaces. Identify ideas to grow community knowledge |
Integrate sustainability considerations into all project phases | Considered environmental sustainability by selecting partners and digital tools that minimize environmental impact. Created spaces to inform the development of digital resources that address climate equity divides and foster community engagement, particularly supporting frontline communities. |
Flexibility and adaptability of project strategies to meet emerging needs and challenges | Adapted the workshop format based on community preference for in-person connection. Addressed the urgency of the climate crisis by incorporating elements like ice, a crucial public health tool, into rituals designed to teach behavioral adaptations and mitigate loss. |
Engagement with community and institutional stakeholders to refine project approaches | Ongoing dialogue with community members to ensure the project remains relevant and responsive. |
project outcomes
02
Objective | Outcomes Achieved |
Foster digital engagement within the community | Increased digital engagement through sharing ritual recordings on social media, email, and phone. |
Address information gaps related to climate change and digital equity | Provided factual information about climate change and raised awareness about digital inequity in accessing resilience information that is not easily accessible to access in the local digital media ecosystem |
Promote individual action to increase digital information and responsiveness to climate loss | Engagement to sustain and create individual actions for improving digital access and responsiveness. |
Build local capacities and resources for ongoing digital inclusion work | Implemented a participatory approach involving skills training, resource sharing, networking, and community development |
03
artist
Name: Allison Rich
Bio: Allison (she / her) is an organizer and artist who translates interdisciplinary ideas for a more equitable future. She composes fragments of mixed media, centered in the ethos of DIY and ecofeminism, to explore modalities of knowledge sharing.
Allison directed the Earth Ethics Institute at Miami Dade College and was appointed by the governor of Maryland to Chair the Education, Communications, and Outreach Group of the state’s Climate Change Commission. She co-founded the Environmental Health Network, Baltimore Green Schools Network, and Filbert Street Garden. She is certified in climate change, health, and communications through Yale.
Her film, “Not Normal” made with an iPhone and Canva about endometriosis is featured by Women’s Voices Now Collection. She is a cofounder of Endo Violence Collective and coedits Endo Violence Magazyn.
endoviolence.com
community/
organisations
Miami Dade County Parks and Recreation
Building community through well-designed parks and open spaces that are efficient, accessible, and engaging with 307 public parks across 50 square kilometers. Creating data to improve equitable access to resiliency. A partner to explore how data can sustain and grow digital equity for climate responsiveness in intersectional community spaces.
Grass Stains of Pioneer Winter Collective +
Octavio Campos
An intergenerational and physically integrated group bringing real bodies and lived experience to the forefront to survive, thrive, and be witnessed. Grass stains is site based residency having deliberate conversations about notions of public performance though race, class, access, and geography. Our workshop took place at Vizcaya Museum & Gardens. A tremendous thank you to Octavio and community.
