Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
With IMBY we wanted to answer the question of how, starting from design and production methods, we could build a house that could foster social integration and civic engagement in a sustainable model. And this can only be done by empowering the people.
Today the term ‘thread’ has taken on another meaning and even the Oxford English Dictionary includes a second definition, after sewing and weaving, citing a thread as “a group of linked messages posted on an Internet forum that share a common subject or theme” and it is here, in this new digital domain, that a renewed essence of cooperation is emerging.
Always known as a vivid and creative city, Barcelona is taking the lead as an exemplary change agent on the European stage. Its DIY vigor and urgent form of citizen-level democracy are palpable, contagious, and best of all, effective.
If we can agree in advance about what constitutes a socially respectful marketplace – and what constitutes a predatory free-riding on the commonweal – we’ll all be a lot better off.
Over the past 20 years, the existence of common spaces, places of social debate and pretty much everything involving citizenship has been erased in a conscious and ideologically-directed manner.
In recent years, a new kind of economy based on the age-old practice of sharing is flourishing across North America and Europe, and is now rapidly spreading in popularity throughout the Middle East and other world regions.
OuiShare Fest 2014 brought together 1,000 sharers from 31 countries under the big tent of the Cabaret Sauvage in Paris.
Access over ownership. After decades of excessive consumerism, this prospect sounded revolutionary. At first.
This essay attempts to simplify possible outcomes by using two axes or polarities which give rise to four possible future scenarios.
With the climate crisis staring us right in the face, the need to transform our daily routines has become increasingly apparent. A part of the solution may be a new twist on the very old concept of sharing things, it’s called collaborative consumption.
My work at the REconomy Project has inspired me to believe that a credible alternative to our current system is now emerging at an incredible rate.
