Institute For The Future

Our favorite ideas from day 1 of Maker Cities: SynchroniCity!

We’re thrilled so many players joined for the launch Maker Cities yesterday and the first weekly challenge, called SynchroniCity. The game is off to a great start, with dozens of exciting ideas coming in from all over the world. All this week during the SynchroniCity challenge, which runs through Friday, January 31st, we’ll be highlighting the best ideas that need your feedback to advance in the game and be eligible to win!

Read through the ideas and click on your favorites to support them in the Maker Cities game!

Our top 5 from day 1:

1. Road Trains
   Player tedks imagines a future in between now and a world where all cars are self-driving.  In this intermediary phase, people can link their cars together to create convoys or trains, all ‘driven’ by a single driver at the very front!

2. Micro-Deliveries 
   Why have delivery trucks?  All people can be couriers of goods by simply matching their daily task maps with where goods need to go. If you are planning on driving by the destination of a package, earn a little extra money by dropping it off yourself.

3. Makerworks Energy
   A proposal that city buildings should be designed to accommodate maker habits and activities, like rooftop gardening, so that basically every building can contribute to the energy grid and be, in essence, a maker factory. It’s interesting to consider what a Maker City would look like designed from the ground up.

4. Collective Moods
   Player Alina combines the power of sensors, personal tech, and social networks to imagine a SynchroniCity in which neighborhoods can react to the collective ‘mood’ of everybody who lives there by spontaneously organizing parties or games.

5. Sidewalk/Crosswalk Communities 
   Krash63 points out how a SynchroniCity could use immersive experiences, pop-up events and more that would make walking down the street an exciting and powerful experience, making walking a more appealing option than driving.

Which idea do you like best?  What challenges might keep these futures from coming true?  Click on your favorite to provide your feedback in Maker Cities.