Community Communication and Civic Engagement
Summary
In recent decades, the study of community communication and civic engagement has coalesced around the notion that robust information flows within and between communities underpin democratic participation and social resilience. Community communication encompasses both formal and informal channels through which citizens exchange information, mobilise collective action and negotiate public concerns. Civic engagement refers to the individual and collective practices by which people exercise agency in public life, ranging from neighbourhood organising and online deliberation to participation in local governance. The interplay between digital platforms and traditional media has transformed the ecology of civic life, enabling new forms of interaction while also raising questions about equity, trust and the resilience of local institutions. Research across sociology, human–computer interaction and media studies highlights the role of social capital in fostering collective efficacy, the importance of inclusive communication infrastructures in bridging social divides and the ways in which framing and representation shape motives for participation. At a global scale, emerging work emphasises adaptive community networks in rural and urban settings, the mobilisation of civic resources during crises and the potential of hyperlocal networks to reinforce neighbourhood cohesion. Together, these strands of inquiry point to both the challenges and opportunities inherent in designing, sustaining and evaluating communication systems that support engaged citizenship and resilient communities.
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Community Communication and Civic Engagement publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in community communication and civic engagement across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Social capital: The networks, norms and trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit within a community.
Civic engagement: Individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern, including participation in community life and democratic processes.
Communication infrastructure: The ensemble of technologies, platforms and social practices that enable information exchange within and between communities.
Hyperlocal networks: Online communication platforms specifically tailored to the informational and social needs of narrowly defined geographic communities.
References
- Socio-digital Rural Resilience: An Exploration of Information Infrastructures Within and Across Rural Villages During Covid-19. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (2024).
- Online Neighborhood Networks: The Relationship Between Online Communication Practices and Neighborhood Dynamics. Media and Communication (2022).
- News Representation and Sense of Belonging Among Multicultural Audiences. Media and Communication (2023).
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