Planetary Praxis

A research group focusing on social, digital and environmental justice through practice-based investigations.

Planetary Praxis is an interdisciplinary research group led by Professor Jennifer Gabrys in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge. Planetary Praxis projects include Smart Forests, a community-based toolkit for the Centre for Landscape Regeneration, Citizen Sense, AirKit, Citizen Data, and Planetarities.

By focusing on planetary problems, from air pollution to deforestation and climate change, we especially consider how technological approaches to observing and managing these problems influence social life, and how they facilitate or limit democratic engagement and equity.

Our research has included investigating smart environments, spanning cities and forests as they become increasingly digital; co-creating a community-based landscape regeneration toolkit; working with communities to monitor air pollution with digital sensors and sensor toolkits; and studying how citizen data influences or challenges environmental decision-making.

We undertake practice-based and participatory research to test technologies in practice. Collaboration with communities and stakeholders is central to our research methods. We also seek to critique, repurpose, and transform digital technologies to advance social, digital, and environmental justice.

Planetary Praxis projects have received funding from the European Research Council (313347, 77921, 866006), the CamPo (Cambridge-Sciences Po) Grants Scheme, and the University of Cambridge SSIF and ESRC Impact Acceleration Accounts.

View Planetary Praxis projects for more information on our specific research areas.

Meet the Planetary Praxis collaborators and get in touch.