Acuto Michele, Dickey Ariana, Butcher Stephanie, Washbourne Carla-Leanne
University of Melbourne, Australia.
University College London, United Kingdom.
World Dev. 2021 Apr;140:105295. doi: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105295. Epub 2020 Nov 21.
Along with disastrous health and economic implications, COVID-19 has also been an epidemic of misinformation and rumours - an 'infodemic'. The desire for robust, evidence-based policymaking in this time of disruption has been at the heart of the multilateral response to the crisis, not least in terms of supporting a continuing agenda for global sustainable development. The role of boundary-spanning knowledge institutions in this context could be pivotal, not least in cities, where much of the pandemic has struck. 'Urban observatories' have emerged as an example of such institutions; harbouring great potential to produce and share knowledge supporting sustainable and equitable processes of recovery. Building on four 'live' case studies during the crisis of institutions based in Johannesburg, Karachi, Freetown and Bangalore, our research note aims to capture the role of these institutions, and what it means to span knowledge boundaries in the current crisis. We do so with an eye towards a better understanding of their knowledge mobilisation practices in contributing towards sustainable urban development. We highlight that the crisis offers a key window for urban observatories to play a progressive and effective role for sustainable and inclusive development. However, we also underline continuing challenges in these boundary knowledge dynamics: including issues of institutional trust, inequality of voices, collective memory, and the balance between normative and advisory roles for observatories.
除了对健康和经济造成灾难性影响外，新冠疫情还引发了错误信息和谣言的泛滥——即“信息疫情”。在这个动荡时期，基于有力证据制定政策的需求一直是应对这场危机的多边行动的核心，尤其是在支持全球可持续发展的持续议程方面。在这种情况下，跨越边界的知识机构的作用可能至关重要，尤其是在疫情肆虐的城市。“城市观测站”已成为这类机构的一个范例，具有产生和分享知识以支持可持续和公平复苏进程的巨大潜力。基于约翰内斯堡、卡拉奇、弗里敦和班加罗尔的机构在危机期间的四个“鲜活”案例研究，我们的研究报告旨在了解这些机构的作用，以及在当前危机中跨越知识边界意味着什么。我们这样做是为了更好地理解它们在促进可持续城市发展方面的知识传播实践。我们强调，这场危机为城市观测站在可持续和包容性发展中发挥积极有效的作用提供了一个关键窗口。然而，我们也强调了这些边界知识动态中持续存在的挑战：包括机构信任问题、声音不平等、集体记忆以及观测站规范作用与咨询作用之间的平衡。
