Canary in the Coal Mine: Design for Solidarity

Design for Solidarity

In the U.S., air pollution is managed through quantitative data from monitors and sensors, aiming for hyper-local data. Environmental justice communities, however, rely on experiential knowledge that often reveals more than sensor data. Unfortunately, their testimonies lack the legal and political standing to prompt significant changes from state agencies. Despite this, marginalized groups engage with state governance processes, navigating the double-bind between participation and refusal. This project argues that design can mediate this dilemma. While governance agencies rely heavily on quantitative data for environmental justice, this project advocates for design to do more than measure. Drawing on ethnographic research in California on air pollution mitigation, it embraces the tension between quantitative and qualitative data. It proposes a practice of collection that fosters solidarity with marginalized communities, bridging the divide between forms of knowledge to drive transformative change. "Canary in the Coalmine" not only measures particulate matter (PM2.5) but also captures embodied knowledge through community observations via multisensorial critical design.