Community Data

Community Data offers a new toolkit for data storytelling in community settings, one purpose-built for goals like inclusion, empowerment, and impact. Data science and visualization has spread into new domains it was designed for - community organizing, education, journalism, civic governance, and more. The dominant computational methods and processes, which have not changed in response, are causing significant discriminatory and harmful impacts, documented by leading scholars across a variety of populations. Informed by 15 years of collaborations in academic and professional settings with nonprofits and marginalized populations, the book articulates a new approach for aligning the processes and media of data work with social good outcomes, learning from the practices of newspapers, museums, community groups, artists, and libraries. This book introduces a community-driven framework as a response to the urgent need to realign data theories and methods around justice and empowerment to avoid further replicating harmful power dynamics and ensure everyone has a seat at the table in data-centered community processes. It offers a broader toolbox for working with data and presenting it, pushing beyond the limited vocabulary of surveys, spreadsheets, charts and graphs.

Rahul Bhargava is an educator, researcher, and designer who builds collaborative projects to interrogate our datafied society with a focus on rethinking participation and power in data processes. His work has appearedin science and craft museums, academic journals, and public events. Rahul was formerly a Research Scientist at the MIT Center for Civic Media. He is currently an Assistant Professor in Journalism and Art + Design at Northeastern University, where he directs the Data Culture Group.