Thirteenth International Conference on The Constructed Environment

Abstract

Taking the case of haze in Singapore, this paper explores how the collection and dissemination of environmental data shape the affective experiences of smart city residents. To understand this, I explore two kinds of haze materiality. The first kind of materiality is the ‘toxic’ nature of the substance of haze, which can be measured in terms of particulate matter concentration – this enacts a larger socio-technical assemblage that is the haze reporting system, which includes air pollution monitoring systems, communication technologies, traditional and social media. This assemblage can constitute ways of expressing governmental forms of care (e.g. the dissemination of ‘health advisories’) that encourage individualized action, revealing the limits of the Smart Nation in establishing sovereignty over its ‘volume’. The second kind of materiality emerges in the sensorial engagement residents have with the haze. This direct experience of the haze challenges the perception of the accuracy of the official haze data, creating tension between the state and residents. In this paper, I discuss how some unique cases of contestations over environmental data show through the entanglements between state, citizen science, and the sensorial materiality of the environmental event. I aim to show how focusing on perception rather than ideology can reveal that these contestations are based on affect, not accuracy. This alternative understanding of the relationship between residents and data can be used to better leverage technologies and other interventions to improve perceptions of public health and well-being during periods of poor air quality.