Fire Protocols reframes fire from a destructive force to be suppressed into an essential ecological tool by developing community-based protocols for fire knowledge transmission and large-scale coordinated action across social, political, and ecological systems in Sonoma County. The framework positions attention as an autopoietic space that allows communities to regenerate and maintain fire knowledge while resolving tensions between geopolitical top-down structures and cultural knowledge systems.
This case file examines protocols for shoreline adaptation in cities facing sea level rise, challenging the engineering-led approach that relies on hardened infrastructure while disconnecting communities from coastlines. The authors propose alternative protocols rooted in activism and adaptive community engagement that enable vibrant, resilient waterfront futures rather than merely protecting existing capital investments.
Celeste LeCompte, Danielle Butler
Exit to Protocol examines how protocols can facilitate graceful retirement and archival by drawing parallels to narrative closure in television, specifically how platforms and communities can transition from active operation to preserved legacy. Gong argues for a framework where protocols enable individuals and organizations to exit with dignity while preserving their work and knowledge for future reference.
Shuya Gong
Mike Travers traces the Biblical Jubilee and ancient Mesopotamian debt-cancellation traditions (drawing on Michael Hudson's research) as early 'meta-protocols' designed to periodically reverse the entrenchment effects of economic systems, examining patches like the prosbul that undermined these resets. He then generalizes this into a framework for forgiveness in protocol design, covering dimensions like timing, coverage, and depth of forgiveness events, and drawing parallels to game-theoretic forgiving strategies, exception handling in programming, and the tension between protocol 'hardness' and 'softness'.
Mike Travers