Institute For The Future

THINK&ACT at Parisoma

There has never been a better time to be a civic participant or a maker in governance. On Friday, December 6, IFTF researcher Bettina Warburg presented to Parisoma's #SharedCity innovators on the emerging signals and forces in Maker Governance. As she describes it, "Makers have gone from a set of hobbyists to a global cultural cross-section. But beyond building, tinkering, and remaking things, these innovators are now trying their hands at remaking systems. This includes the structures of participation, social norms, and coordination that surround and govern us." Bettina's talk pulled themes from across IFTF's research, including the Governance Futures Lab, Maker Cities, and our 2011 report, A Planet of Civic Laboratories.

The #SharedCity event brought together thought leaders and innovators to explore the sharing economy's potential to transform cities into shared cities. Bettina's talk focused on the implications and possibilities for citizens in these future cities, while IFTF Future for Good Fellow Shannon Spanhake (@channelshannon), the Exploratorium's Steve Gennrich, and BMW car-sharing platform DriveNow's Peter Dempster spoke from city, partnership, and corporate perspectives. Parisoma engaged engineers, designers, and creative thinkers to imagine and build the future of the sharing economy through an innovation competition for new ideas and pathways for city organizations and corporations to make a shared city.