Alternative Sociotechnical Infrastructures Revealed by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico

This project explores why were civil society organizations more effective than State and Federal agencies at delivering post-hurricane relief? My findings indicate that activists engaged in “Seamful Work," which uses resources at hand and situated knowledge to aligning assorted infrastructures for a specific purpose (Vertesi, 2014), thus, creating an autonomous Alternative Sociotechnical Infrastructure (ASIs) by bringing together an assortment of self-regulating actors and organizations. Activists had been engaged in seamful work as a consequence of the State's institutional and technical infrastructure's misalignment. This research also highlights that activists' practices are mediated by a shared solidarity-based framework, which differs from government institutions and is enacted as resourceful rearrangements. It underscores the importance of independent community organizations for post-disaster relief efforts. Stemming from this project, my article entitled “Working at the Seams of Colonial Structures: Alternative Sociotechnical Infrastructures Revealed by Hurricane Maria" was published in Science, Technology, and Human Values..

Espinoza Vasquez, F. K. (2021). Working at the Seams of Colonial Structures: Alternative Sociotechnical Infrastructures Revealed by Hurricane Maria. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 01622439211058448. https://doi.org/10.1177/01622439211058448

Espinoza Vasquez, F., & Oltmann, S. M. (2023). Information precarity and the agentic practices of marginalized communities: Puerto Rican activists addressing the crisis before, during, and after Hurricane Maria. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 74(5), 517-530. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24742