Citizen science has established itself as an important approach to the co-production of knowledge and public participation in scientific research. Combined with digital technologies and online tools, the approach has been celebrated as a path toward the democratization of science. However, only a few studies have investigated the role digital technologies play in shaping interactions between people and nature. Additionally, the role of context in shaping online and face-to-face participation in citizen science projects has yet to receive much attention. This article takes a citizen science initiative in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest in the state of São Paulo as an illustrative case of the emergence of unanticipated consequences of digital technologies. The emergence of a socio-material practice of animal identification through a popular instant-messaging app is described, allowing a better understanding of the role of digital technologies and the context framing citizen participation in challenging environments.

The 2019 census identified that São Paulo had a homeless population of 24,344 people, a situation potentially worsened due to the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Since the 1990s, a regulatory framework that obliges the municipal Executive Branch to serve this population has been strengthened, including instruments for participation. This article aims to conduct an analysis of this policy, verifying its application through the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding the underlying complexity of this population’s living conditions, the authors adopted a vulnerability perspective to develop such an analysis, focusing on institutional vulnerability. Based on this discussion, this study approached the following question: How are the state of São Paulo’s actions related to the homeless population’s vulnerability, and what are the consequences of this condition during the COVID-19 pandemic? Based on qualitative secondary data, this article is presented as a result of the historical survey of the policy to protect the homeless population and the interaction between this population and the State. This article also reviews different forms of vulnerabilities to which the São Paulo homeless population is exposed, and the actions implemented by the government during the pandemic. As a contribution, the authors raise the negative and positive impacts of the state’s actions on the living conditions of this population, adding to the literature on institutional vulnerabilities and directing an investigation of the organizational elements of the public sector that may be associated with these impacts. No censo de 2019, identificou-se que São Paulo tinha uma população em situação de rua de 24.344 pessoas, situação potencialmente agravada pela crise gerada pela pandemia de COVID-19 a partir de 2020. Desde a década de 1990, um marco regulatório que obriga o Poder Executivo municipal a atender este público tem sido fortalecido, abrangendo inclusive instrumentos de participação. Este artigo tem por objetivo tecer uma análise dessa política, verificando sua aplicação no momento singular que é a pandemia de COVID-19. Compreendendo a complexidade subjacente às condições de vida deste público, adotamos a lente de vulnerabilidades para desenvolver tal análise, com foco especial em vulnerabilidade institucional. A partir dessa discussão, colocamos a seguinte questão: como as ações estatais se relacionam com a condição de vulnerabilidade da população em situação de rua e quais os desdobramentos de tal condição durante a pandemia da COVID-19? Construído qualitativamente a partir de dados secundários, este artigo apresenta como resultados o levantamento histórico da política de proteção à população em situação de rua e os modos de interação entre esta população e o Estado, mais especificamente, o de São Paulo; e as diferentes formas de vulnerabilidades às quais essa população está exposta e as ações implementadas durante a pandemia. Como contribuições, trazemos os impactos negativos e positivos da ação estatal na condição de vida dessa população, agregando à literatura das vulnerabilidades institucionais, além de direcionar uma investigação para os elementos organizacionais do setor público que podem estar associados a esses impactos.

Solidarity is a fundamental concept in social sciences, explaining the motivation for collective action and understanding how social cohesion institutions are structured. Its conceptualization, however, is often taken for granted in solidarity economy literature. This article investigates its emergence in solidarity economy organizations and the transformation through practices and discourse in public policies. We conducted a qualitative single-case study of COOPERCENTRAL VR, a family farming cooperative center with 13 organizations in Brazil. In conclusion, we demonstrate the paths of solidarity in the construction of a new socioeconomic reality and the role of the relationship between civil society and governments in forming and maintaining this process. The organization is indicated as an essential factor in bonding subjects and society.