This book is the perfect combination of radical and practical. What would the institutions that set the foundation for civic health look like if they operated through the lens of care? This simple question is profoundly consequential, and readers get to see that brighter and more functional future with the case studies provided herein. This book provides the spark for scholars, leaders, and workers in civic spaces to reorient around care, and I cant wait to see the
positive change that follows.
Eric Gordon is a professor of civic media and the director of the Engagement Lab at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. His research focuses on civic engagement and the transformation of public life and governance in digital culture. He has served as an expert advisor for local and national governments, as well as NGOs around the world, designing responsive processes that encourage play, delight, and deliberation. He is the author of two books
about media and cities and, most recently, is the editor of Civic Media: Technology, Design, Practice (MIT Press, 2016) and Ludics: Play from Antiquity to Present (Palgrave, 2020).
Gabriel Mugar (Ph.D., Information Science and Technology, Syracuse University) is a design researcher at the global design consultancy, IDEO. He specializes in working with communities and organizations to design opportunities for learning, collaboration, and storytelling.