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Innovators in Urban China: Makerspaces and Marginality with Impact
[journal article]
Abstract In China, the emergence of makerspaces, hackerspaces, Fab Labs, and innovation labs reflects top-down and bottom-up dynamics. The grassroots movements and governmental efforts promoting innovation and creativity are part of the maker trend linked to the rise of the Internet and access to digital too... view more
In China, the emergence of makerspaces, hackerspaces, Fab Labs, and innovation labs reflects top-down and bottom-up dynamics. The grassroots movements and governmental efforts promoting innovation and creativity are part of the maker trend linked to the rise of the Internet and access to digital tools. The urban imaginary of the maker culture creates networks and events both globally and locally. The first makerspaces opened in Shanghai and Shenzhen in 2010 and attracted the attention of the government, which published an initiative in 2015 that influenced the typology of makerspaces in China. The ephemeral spaces for innovators, hackers, makers, and entrepreneurs shaped by this cultural context and local ecosystem are urban phenomena investigated with social anthropological and experimental methodologies to better understand the extension and platformisation of these autonomous and co-opted communities and narratives. This research fills the knowledge gap on makerspaces in China in recent years, showing the impact of governmental initiatives on a grassroots culture, the possible roles of makers, and the complexity and unlimitedness of the maker culture through international partnerships for projects such as Designed in Ethiopia and Kabakoo Academies.... view less
Keywords
Africa; China; innovation; Internet; digital media
Classification
Area Development Planning, Regional Research
Interactive, electronic Media
Free Keywords
change-makers; changing narratives; empowerment; makerspaces
Document language
English
Publication Year
2020
Page/Pages
p. 68-77
Journal
Urban Planning, 5 (2020) 4
Issue topic
The City of Digital Social Innovators
ISSN
2183-7635
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed