Cities present a paradox to innovators, entrepreneurs, and young people with a passion for improving urban life and public services. On the one hand, cities can seem like perfect candidates for innovation, with important problems that are far from solved, and the kind of rich data that problem-solvers love. On the other hand, cities are bureaucracies, and even the most visionary civil servants operate in an environment that doesn’t exactly…
The following is an excerpt from “First-ever Maker City Festival brings spirit of Haynes and Apperson to Kokomo” by Haley Church of the Kokomo Tribune The spirit of Haynes and Apperson is alive and well in Kokomo, thriving under the direction of the aptly-named SHAK Makerspace. Dozens of makers braved the oppressive heat during the Haynes-Apperson Festival to host demonstrations and interactive projects on Superior St. Kokomo’s first Maker City…
Recently, we were asked by Johannesburg Inner City Partnership (JICP) on behalf of the Makers Valley Collective to partner with them on a unique proposal for Creative Placemaking. The proposal was solicited by the U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg and asked for local organizations on the ground to propose work supporting inclusive growth in South Africa: promote conscientious urban revitalization in low-income urban neighborhoods through “creative placemaking” that integrates community-based arts…
For the last 12 months or so, we’ve been working with Swytch.io, a company that uses the blockchain to reduce carbon emissions in unique ways. Recently, Peter Hirshberg had the opportunity to share this work in a broader context, discussing how the blockchain can be used to create new mechanisms to pull through behavior change on a global scale. In this talk Maker City Chairman Peter Hirshberg looks at how…
Allegany County is located in upstate New York. This is a small county with a population of not quite 50,000, one with significant assets. A highly skilled population, especially as compared to other rural areas, with a concentration of tradespeople and advanced manufacturing competence The presence of both advanced manufacturing and science-based businesses as well as lower-tech “craft” businesses such as artists and small-scale agriculture Deeply affordable – both in…
In our first installment of the Maker City Podcast, Maker City Chairman Peter Hirshberg speaks with James Fallows who early in his career was a speechwriter for President Jimmy Carter and — for the last 25 years — a prolific author and national correspondent for the “The Atlantic” magazine. Jim and his wife Deb, who is also a journalist, have spent the last two years crisscrossing the U.S. in…
Maker advocates and localists all over the world are using the Maker City book to create new forms of innovation and economic opportunity. We recently had the opportunity to travel to Israel and to interview Maker advocates from South Africa and Jordan. Next month we’ll be featuring our work in Israel including a visit to a high-impact makerspace located in Galilei. To whet your appetite, here’s a short video with…
The Urban Manufacturing Alliance (UMA) is one of our key strategic partners. The way we think of them is as the modern incarnation of a trade association. Their membership consists of ~500 private and public sector players involved in urban manufacturing across about 150 cities and towns in the United States. Today, most trade associations spend most of their time, money, and energy lobbying at the federal or state level. What…
