Recently, our colleagues Vasilis Niaros, Vasilis Kostakis and Wolfgang Drechsler received the Tallinn University of Technology 2017 Publication of the Year award for “Making (in) the Smart City”. Abstract Critical approaches to the smart city concept are used to begin highlighting the promises of makerspaces, that is to say, those emerging urban sites that promote… Continue reading
Most technology startups say they’re “making the world a better” place as anyone who watches the TV show Silicon Valley knows. Reality is, of course, murkier. In some cases, it can pretty objectively be argued that a company is really making something the world needs; if they’re innovating on renewable energy or a cure for… Continue reading
Exploring the paradox of community Group formation fascinates me. I invite you to get fascinated with me for a minute: In your imagination, picture a person as an H₂0 gas molecule, floating around in space. The molecule is an unattached individual. Maybe it’s you. You’re cruising through the atmosphere, bouncing off other individuals: maybe high-fiving… Continue reading
Mark Walton: The Forestry Commission estimates that 47% of England’s woodlands are unmanaged. If you like to think of woods as wild places and flinch at the idea of a tree being felled, then you might consider this a good thing. But woodlands, at least in this country, need management. Whilst truly wild woodlands are… Continue reading
Vassilis Gkisakis, M. Lazzaro, L. Ortolani and N. Sinoir: Digital technologies in the agricultural sector are highly promoted. However, do they offer a dimension of real sustainability, as regarded within the agroecological approach, or is it just another business trend? These new technologies are clearly market-oriented and they bring farmers dependency on costly tools, mostly… Continue reading
Hello friends, this Thursday, May 3, I’ll be holding an informal get together and workshop in London on the Commons along with a game of Commonspoly. This is a hacked version and critique of the game Monopoly, where the goals are to first re-municipalize private goods and, then, turn them into Commons. Rather than compete… Continue reading
The Newton Commoners Plot for Renewing Community The Plot is more than interesting. It touches something deep within us – the yearning for connection, for conviviality, for joining up with people in a shared place that together we can co-create, a place where community can be meaningfully experienced and strengthened. I discovered ‘The Plot’ in… Continue reading
Co-owned web infrastructure is a clear goal for the co-op movement. As well as ensuring our data is not abused by big corporates a co-owned ‘cloud’ of services like email, docs, spreadsheets and calendars could do wonders for collaboration. A cooperative cloud would also provide a clear stepping stone towards the open source, collaborative working… Continue reading