Self-organization

In much of my work on cities, social movements, and urban policy, I explore the politics and science of self-organization. My project on collectivization and enclosure looks at the interplay of state formation and self-organization. I’m also interested in how digital technologies figure into the coordination and imagination of self-organization by social movements and corporations.

 

Burning Man embraces the idea of radical inclusion and aims to instill a set of core values in its many participants. In order to achieve this objective, the week-long event features a variety of fascinating participatory frameworks, from consensus decision-making and a culture of volunteerism to interactive artwork and even the collaborative construction of a city! … Burning Man is unorthodox in that, like any event of its size, it requires a massive organizational structure, and yet the fundamental principles of the festival dictate just the opposite.