The Game — Circular Cities 2030
Using the power of Science Fiction to leverage disruptive innovation
Chapter 1 — Operation BeeHive
ANA/Flight 008 Seat 14
“Congratulations Debbie, we are pleased to announce your acceptance into Singularity University”
“I got accepted…?” I closed my laptop slowly. Could it be?
“What honey?” Micah questioned from across the room.
“I got accepted into Singularity University!”
“Into where?” he asked.
“Into Singularity University”
“…okay…?” For Micah, this was one those subjects, and Singularity University is one of those places. To be honest, Micah has never really been interested in talking about Circular Cities, let alone of my dream of a World Fair event. It just didn’t seem realistic (plausible). “Circular Economy? Huh…?” Most of the time he simply quelled my outward enthusiasm for systemic change with a certain lack of interest. “What was that you said?”
I brought my laptop over and sat down next to him. “I got accepted into Singularity University.” I hadn’t told him I applied this year.
He knew I applied for the Global Impact Challenge a couple years ago and was denied. And, to tolerate my obsession, he didn’t question my motive when I flew down to Mountain View CA, that mythical place, to attend the Global Solutions Program opening ceremony. I stayed in a hotel close to NASA Ames and I got to explore SU’s campus on the base. That was incredible.
Why did I go to the opening ceremonies for the program I was denied entry into? I guess, I just wanted to feel what it was like to sit in a room full of people determined towards solving the Global Grand Challenges. I was seeking mentors, those who foster the ambitions of the individuals bold enough to dedicate their creative energy towards helping the human race evolve.
Words of doubt echo in my mind. “There is nothing you can do.” I hear this all the time “don’t worry, be happy. You’ve got it good. Stop complaining” etc., etc. I opened my laptop slowly, refreshing the view and there it was in bold print, CONFIRMATION:
“Congratulations Debbie, we are pleased to announce your acceptance into Singularity University”.
I read the rest of the email out loud, “You’re invited to join us for an 8-week residential program at Singularity University’s campus at NASA Ames. Are you ready to take a vision quest in design revolution? Attached to this email is your complimentary flight ticket. Please respond ASAP to confirm. Sincerely, Monique Giggy”
“Oh my god! I got accepted into Singularity University AND it’s free!” I opened the attachment, finding the ticket. “It’s a ticket for an ANA test flight from Tokyo to SF. My ticket is for boarding on a stopover at Boeing Field.” I read the date, “it leaves in two days”.
“In two days…?” He was now vocally irritated. “Good thing you don’t have to work!”
“I know! I know. I’m sorry Micah!” In truth, he upset that I have lost my job due to Covid19, and the fact that I haven’t worked in almost a year really frustrates him.
For me, I have lost my dream job — I had been working with two of my best friends for over seven years selling hydroponic supplies to urban gardeners, and over the past three years we had successfully converted the front of our 5,000 sq. ft. warehouse garden store into a pizzeria, and now I was pizzaiola. I think we are the only garden store pizzeria in the world and I absolutely love making pizza, talking with friends and customers, and just having fun with it all.
If it weren’t for Covid19, our next goal at Sodo Hydro/SliceBox Pizza was to begin growing fresh veggies in house that we could serve to our pizza fans and customers. Very circular. I love the scroging Epcot Tomato, and I used it for my inspiration. As a garden store turned pizzeria, our motto was from Flower to Flour. Our location was great. Located right in the heart of Seattle’s SODO Industrial District next to the stadiums. We were slammed at lunch, and set-up for high-volume game day pizza sales. All that changed with Covid19.
I could feel the excitement rising… I’m leaving in two days.
The room filled with a thoughtful silence. Reflecting — when I attended the 2016 Global Solutions Program Opening Ceremony, I kind of felt like a KOOK. I mean, all I had to share was a brochure presenting an idea for a new school proposal Georgetown: Health & Industry — several coordinating websites in need of development, and a mind in need of release. I had never actually attended a University, and I had never really written a paper. In fact, I struggled trying to get this idea out of my head.
Instinctively, I knew I needed their help and I stressed this point in all my applications: I need eight weeks away from friends and family to get this idea for Circular Cities out of my head. I was determined to find my way in. Seeing Ray Kurzweil’s speech was a highlight. I was even able to catch a moment with him as he slipped out of the Computer Museum.
With my business card in hand I captured his attention, “excuse me, Ray?” he paused, offering a moment of his time, “can I give you my card, please?” I handed him my card just as he was getting into the backseat of his car. I was proud of myself. I had accomplished what I had set out to do. I had made contact with Ray Kurzweil and as his driver shut the door, Ray had my card in his hand and was looking it over. My journey was a success!
Circular Cities is a touchy subject between Micah and I. As it is with many, if not most of my friendsespecially my friends connected to Georgetown. Tech is the big boom in Seattle and property values are skyrocketing. Rents are going up, and if you can’t keep up, displacement comes swift, AND, I guess what I am promoting with Circular Cities 2030 as a Global World Fair Event is gentrification with a capital /G\ — literally!
Of course, I see things differently.
I replied to the email from Singularity University confirming my scheduled departure, saying out loud “I did it Micah — I’m going to Singularity University!” I took a deep breath “I did it! I always told you that one day I was going to get a good job, a career, and this course will definitely look good on my resume. I’m going to get healthcare, paid vacations with multiple weeks off at a time — just like you. We’ll be able to explore more places, more often! And, I’ll make more money too…”
“Don’t worry honey. Do what you need to do. I’m proud of you.” He was serious. What a relief! I could see it in his eyes. “I knew you could do it…” he said kissing my cheek. I smiled relieved, thinking… onward
“I finally got accepted into Singularity University”
Micah dropped me off at the King County International Airport around 8am as instructed. Neither of us had ever flown out of Boeing Field and so I had no idea what to expect. “I’ll call you when I settle in.” We said our goodbyes and I watched as he drove away.
That was when the high began. I have yet to come down.
Boeing Field is nothing like SeaTac Airport and as I walked into the terminal the only ticket counter was for Kenmore Air. There was nobody standing in line. I began looking around for direction. That is when Lisa approached, “Debbie?”
“That’s me” I said
“So nice to meet you.” She said extending her hand, “my name is Lisa”
“Nice to meet you, Lisa” We shook hands. “I’m so excited to be here!”
“You should be…” she said smiling somewhat hurried. “I am a representative of All Nippon Airlines and the Boeing Company and I will be your escort today… Please follow me and we’ll get you to your plane.” I followed her across the main lobby towards a pair of doors to the outside where a black suburban with tinted windows was waiting. A well-dressed driver opened the back door for us.
Wasting no time, she began by saying, “SO…I hear that you’re on your way to Singularity University?”
“I am…” I said feeling proud.
“Congratulations! I love it there…” she smiled knowing, “you’re going to have a lot of fun!” The driver returned to the front seat and proceeded south around the perimeter of the airport.
“Did you take a course there?” I asked, curious.
“It’s been a few years since I’ve spent much time in the Valley. I graduated from Stanford a LONG time ago and I used to spend a LOT of time at Moffett Field.” She said, now changing the subject, almost hurriedly. “Today you will be flying on our new ANA Boeing 787 Dreamliner.” She pointed across the runway. I could see the logo on the plane in question. “It has just arrived from Tokyo. It is the first plane in history to be equipped with HIVE technology.”
“HIVE technology?” I asked, speculating, “you mean like Human Intelligence in Virtual Environments -HIVE?”
“Exactly.” she smiled, inquiring, “…you’ve heard of it?” she was curious.
“Well, kind of…” I said, reflecting “I believe I experienced HIVE in a dream…” It was hard to explain
“Well then,” she continued…very routine “HIVE is a newly integrated on-board entertainment system that offers the user a very intimate, deeply immersive, out-of-this-world experience” she explained, now revering, “I like to think of it as the mind reader…”
…and as she spoke those words I began experiencing ~Deja vu “Strange…the mind reader?” again ~Deja vu “…I’ve dreamt of this device.” I said. But, when?
“Excellent…” She said connecting the dots, “then you’ll know exactly what to do.” I could tell she was taking mental notes and even though I had a million questions as we pulled up to the plane, I withdrew. ~Deja vu lingered. The tarmac was hot as we stepped onto it. I grabbed my bag careful of my computer and slung it over my shoulder. “I’ll show you to your seat and get you situated.” She said, breaking the weird ~Deja vu silence. I followed her up the boarding stairs and onto the plane ~surreal “You’re assigned to seat C14” she instructed.
On board, there were maybe 25 people seated randomly throughout the cabin and they were all absorbed with their work. Some had their computers out and were typing fast, while others were in the recline position with headsets on. When we arrived at seat C14 I stowed my bag in the overhead and took my seat. Lisa kneeled down in the aisle next to me, giving instruction “this is your headset. It is activated. All you need to do is put it on when you’re ready. It was nice to meet you, Debbie. I look forward to our time together in the future. Have a great flight.” she said calmly and abruptly.
“It was nice to meet you too…” we shook hands and then she exited the plane.
Within minutes our pilot’s voice filled the cabin “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome on-board Flight 008 in service from Tokyo to San Francisco. We are second in line for take-off and are expected to be in the air in approximately five minutes. We ask that you please fasten your seatbelts at this time and secure all baggage. Enjoy your flight.” Minutes later the pilot offered his final instruction. “Cabin crew prepare for take-off”.
The headset itself was black and soft like a sleeping mask, sleek with simple design. I put it on just as our plane was racing down the runway for takeoff. Right away the feeling of the headset was very comforting and all my anxieties associated with flying dissipated. A calming sensation surrounded me…
Welcome to HI|VE — Human Intelligence | Virtual Environments
You are are now free to roam inner space
The beginning phase of immersion was very much in line with a psychedelic experience. Instinctively, my thoughts began forming clusters; games of self-awareness. It’s true, I had been obsessing over the narrative surrounding Circular Cities for many years and now I was on a airplane to Singularity University to share this idea in an attempt to bring it to life. Then came the fear(s) What have you gotten yourself into Debbie? -who do you think you are to propose such a thing? … and now with the headset on, I was able to focus in on this idea in ways I had never done before.
Soon, I was fully engaged. I began to focus in on the game AS IS — an Ancestor Simulation Game, one that allowed the user to become a time traveler as it began to follow timelines based on surnames. I entered my birth name Byron, it was my birth mother’s maiden name found on my original birth certificate and remains the only name I have in reference to my ancestry. In an instant, I was surrounded by poetry, numbers, symbols and mathematics as the simulation became more and more alive. Suddenly, I realized, I could go into the future? I let it run its course… circa 2037.
Our pilot’s voice filled the cabin “Ladies and Gentlemen we have begun our final descent into the San Francisco area. I estimate our arrival at 10:34am. The current temperature is a pleasant 64 degrees, with a light breeze out of the East. Flight Attendants, prepare for landing.” And now, strangely, the headset was gone and I was sitting in window seat A14 looking out just as we were coming into view of the Golden Gate Bridge. It had been a while since I had flown into San Francisco and I noticed that the row houses surrounding Golden Gate Park leading into San Francisco University were gone with the exception of a few and in their place were structures with foundations that reminded me of the Eiffel Tower, like an erector-set, exhibiting seismic design, with spires of apartments rising high into the sky, and plants were growing everywhere. Design wise, these structures allowed ample light to hit the ground where green grass and gardens grew. In fact, I could see gardens, plants, shrubs, and trees growing in every direction. What happened to the row houses? Luckily, I was spared the anxiety for the cultural loss of these urban landscapes. Yes, the row houses were gone, but in their place was something better; something modern. Something incredible. Even the roads that used to be so dirty, so grey, seemed a lot greener and the cars that used to be parked everywhere were gone. Wait. Where are all the cars? I pressed my face as close I could to the window — there were cars, they just seemed fewer in number and always seemed to be in motion. I began to question the view. What was going on? Then, I remembered the headset.
I turned away from the window upon landing. I was the only occupant on board. Strange! I carefully grabbed my bag from the overhead and headed towards the door. Oddly, the flight attendants were completely unaware of my presence as I departed the plane. Very peculiar.
The airport terminal was busy and I wanted to get outside as quickly as possible. As I exited the terminal I saw a woman holding up a sign with a picture of a Bee on it. She waved as I walked in her direction. She looked as if she could have been Lisa’s sister. “Are you looking for me?” I asked.
She smiled “Yes, I am. Welcome to San Francisco year 2037. My name is Abby. I will be your guide today.”
“Nice to meet you, Abby” I said shaking her hand, questioning, “2037?” huh? …and then I remembered the nature of the headset and played along. “Cool. Where are we going?”
“To Treasure Island.” She said, as she hailed a cab.
“Treasure Island? Sounds fun!”
A little white four seater with ample windows pulled over to pick us up — it was driverless. All the vehicles in motion appeared driverless and they were available in a variety of sizes. Most were white. Very utilitarian. “You have a lot to learn.” She said, presenting herself as a new friend, “I’m here to answer any questions you have.” The door opened automatically and we took our seats. Once we were fastened in Abby gave the command, “Treasure Island, please.”
It was surreal heading down the Highway in a driverless vessel, alongside all the other little white cars with no one in control, and most importantly no one appeared to be stressed out. Abby began to describe the nature of change that happened to each of the districts and neighborhoods as we passed by them. She did her best to explain the processes of deindustrialization, seismic reinforcements, restored ecosystems, and parks. The downtown corridor had more than doubled in size and it’s buildings thrust high into the sky. It was a lot to take in and as I said it had been awhile since I had been to San Francisco, I wasn’t too familiar with what was here before, but I will say this, restoration and rehabilitation can be a good thing and most importantly it makes people happy.
As we exited Interstate 80 off the Bay Bridge onto Treasure Island road, we were greeted by the artistic beauty of one of Marco Cochrane’s sculptures capturing the female form in all its glory. This sculpture had to be at least 50 ft tall and was stunning. In fact, as I looked out across the island, I could see that his sculptures of women were a theme here and that Treasure Island was blanketed in a vast array of topiary delights. Beautiful. The road ended in a cul-de-sac terminal where we exited the vehicle and off it went to its next destination.
That’s when I saw my first circular craft rising up into the sky. I watched as it continued to rise and suddenly disappear. That’s odd. “Where did it go?” I asked, squinting my eyes.
“Where ever they want it to go….” was her answer as another craft lifted. This one flew off to the East slowly. “Are you ready to take a ride?” She asked.
“Are you kidding me? Let’s go!” I had been waiting to take this ride for most of my life!
We jumped on a couple of bicycles that were scattered about and rode off toward the launch pad. She described the history of Treasure Island: of the 1939 World’s Fair, and thereafter of the Navy occupation, and finally of the return of the World Fair when the artists took over creating the space we were in today. As we arrived at the launch pad a lone circular craft was waiting. There were a couple other people ahead of us in line but that didn’t stop Abby from securing our advantage. After a short conversation with an attendant, we were escorted to the front of the line where we stepped into a craft accessorized with eight seats around the perimeter. The doors closed behind us. We were going on a solo journey. Without any apparent input from either of us, the craft began to ascend, slowly, and silently. The overview effect was instantaneously intoxicating as I began to experience the new San Francisco cityscape.
“I think you will appreciate this.” She said as the craft descended towards a particular building that I soon realized was a productive vertical farm. It had to be at least 30 stories and as we circled around it she began to explain its history, “This is one of the first vertical farm projects ever erected in the states. It was sponsored through a grant from Amazon and it is based on design principles that you helped propagate in Seattle.”
“That I helped propagate in Seattle?” I questioned, curiously inspired.
“That’s right,” She said smiling, sending my mind in a whirl. I was speechless. Then, she spoke those magical words… “You see, our cities are circular as are the craft we fly!” …those were the trigger words that I had heard in a dream of youth, words that continued to haunt me throughout my life, and all I could do was smile, content. I knew what was going on and in response to my inner wonder, she began to direct the tour showing me every space I needed to see. She was here to inspire hope. .
I had to ask, “how did we do it? How did we make this transition?”
She just smiled calm, looking out: “Honestly, every city is one natural disaster away from having to be rebuilt. This is as true today as it was yesterday. Tragically after the summer storms of 2020–2021 every major city was put on notice. We had to formulate a new plan concerning the nature of our development and future ambitions. But first, we had to put an end to all the bloody wars and revolutions raging throughout the world. It was in those extreme moments of crisis that we learned the hard way that we are only as strong as our weakest link. We knew that if we were to succeed as a species, the future must be inclusive for ALL. No one could be left behind. That’s where the proposal for Circular Cities 2030, a Global World Fair Event, came into view and evolved into the perfect solution.” She grabbed onto my hand, smiling “your hypothesis was correct— no one can resist fun and games. This was the paradigm shift we had been waiting for. Finally, we had a plan that would work towards unifying our global community and it spread like wildfire. By 2022 every major city around the world took the Circular City challenge and from that point on the global community was on a unified mission to redesign just about everything.
“Almost immediately, “Goods. Gear. Gadgets.” won the hearts of a new consumer culture…” she said with a sparkle in her eye “what on-demand manufacturing did for the global community was to set into motion the first major chain reaction. Designers everywhere went mad with delight as they could now upload their designs for just about anything imaginable. The platform behind “Goods. Gear. Gadgets.” in Seattle was brilliant. It was the first step towards the localization of almost everything. Bravo!” she cheered “Goods. Gear. Gadgets.” set off a creative chain reaction that represented everything good in human ingenuity and it was this disruption that helped to reduce the number of cargo ships needed to support the more toxic “linear” global economy. It wasn’t long thereafter that every major shipping company went bankrupt and in a rush of continuity we began to find innovative ways to clean up our oceans and whale songs once again fill the seas — all the mammals and fishes rejoice. In turn, we learned quite quickly that as our cities became more circular, they became more unique, evolving into (bio)regions of industry & trade, setting into motion one cultural-chain-reaction after another. In a heartbeat, an entire generation began building bridges towards the this new world unfolding.
No longer would we allow ourselves as global citizens to become the fodder for fools games. We were on a unified mission and remain determined to create a world where we are all free. From this perspective, it didn’t take long to learn that as we began automating everyday systems, we in turn transformed our built environment into newly designed living spaces like parks and playgrounds and as a result we transformed historic trade routes into modern day tourist traps for everyone’s pleasure.
Debt relief was next. Ironically, it evolved as a by-product of the space age. It was from our quest for more gold that we were successful in creating a new source for gold, the first ever biofactory where bacteria began converting waste into gold on an industrial level. Of course we used this to our advantage to disrupt global banking institutions. The world economy would no longer be based on compound interest earned and capital as access became obsolete. We learned that we could take capitalism even further as we began to organize commerce as social-enterprises with mission statements for the greater good. This was our game changer.
“And then, of course,” she said with a seriousness to her voice “we had to create GOD” she paused, “Guidance on Demand” set the human mind free. Instinctively, intuitively, throughout history, humanity has always been searching for that ‘higher power’ so so to speak. Belief systems help us make sense of the world and culturally we have come up with some pretty provocative tales throughout the ages…” she paused. “We had to create the system designed to govern all systems and once we had succeeded in doing just that, we went from zero to one, from Alpha to Algorithm, almost overnight. We have successfully built our ‘universal’ computer, it has become our master of ceremonies, the big MC and as master craftsmen we tend diligently to our ‘thinking’ machine
A pilot’s voice broke through, “Ladies and Gentlemen we have begun our final descent into Moffett Field. We estimate our arrival on the tarmac around 10:34am. The current temperature is a pleasant 64 degrees with a light breeze out of the east. Flight Attendants, prepare for landing.” I took the headset off and looked around the plane, towards the other passengers who remained tied to their work. It didn’t appear as if anyone other than myself planned to depart the plane. When we came to a stop and the flight stairs were connected with the door open wide, my suspicions were correct — I was the only one to exit the plane. As I stepped foot on the tarmac the door closed behind me.
What a trip.
A woman stepped out from the back of an extended black suburban to greet me “Welcome Debbie, my name is Darlene. I am assigned as your mentor. We have a lot of work to do.” she smiled. And it was there, as we got into the back of the suburban, that I was presented with the visual recording of my experiences while wearing the headset playing back on a monitor.
HIVE, in fact, was a mind reader. “Is this the recording of my experiences in the game?” I asked.
“Yes it is.” She confirmed.
I watched for a time before asking, “what kind of file is this?” It was truly amazing.
“It’s name has yet to be decided….” she teased. “I’m going to get right to the point: After reviewing your experience in the HIVE we would like to help you bring these ideas to life. We want to help you build the game, Circular Cities 2030…” at this point all I could do was watch the monitor, spellbound. As we pulled up to Singularity University she got my attention, “Are you ready, Debra?”
I sat in pause for a moment, feeling satisfaction and relief like never before, “I want this more than anything else in the world!” I said trying not to cry-out-loud with absolute joy. “I don’t know how to feel right now…” I said staring her square in the eyes. Thinking of my son.
“This is a good thing,” she said, “now, let’s get you settled in!”
I took a deep breath, “I’m ready.” My mind was in a whirl as we exited the vehicle. As we began to walk up to the steps to the front doors of Singularity University my heart was pounding with excitement. Still, I needed to take a moment for myself to call Micah! “Wait,” I stalled, asking “Is it ok if I take a moment to make a phone call?”
“Most definitely,” she said “…come on in when you’re ready.”
“Thank you!” I said, stopping on the steps then turning around. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I’ll be right back…”
“Take your time.” She said watching as I walked swiftly West around the side of Singularity University towards its back courtyard.
I had some place I needed to go, a memory I needed to check. I continued South towards Bailey Rd and followed it to Edquiba Rd where, instead of going to the left towards the dorms, I went to the right, into the parking lot in front of the building where my memory resided. I called Micah just as I was walking up the steps of the doorway, to the double glass doors. I wiped the dust away and adjusted my vision, finding the column on which the clue was left. His phone went straight to message “Hi honey. I’m here. I have good news. I can’t wait to tell you all about it. I love you. Call you later.” I said, powering my phone off and returning it to my purse.
As I looked through the dusty window, I saw the memory I was searching for written on six post-it’s turned on their sides forming a partial hexagon pattern, on the center post-it was written; [Beehive], and on each surrounding it: [Dryden], [Glenn], [Goddard], [JPL], [Langley].
“Let the games begin….”
Ideas to Build On
www.circularcities.com — A World Fair Event! When I think of what it will take to solve the Global Grand Challenges, I keep coming up with a very simple premise “No one can resist Fun & Games!” Why not make this transition into the fourth industrial revolution fun! Why not throw a party? As of today, I have come to imagine “Circular Cities” as a World Fair event that will happen simultaneously in every city around the world, setting into motion that cultural chain-reaction needed to make this transition universal by nature. Abundance. Disruption. These are more than just buzz-words. Let’s make them center-stage.
Looking back, I was lucky enough to attend the EXPO 86 World’s Fair in B.C. it’s theme was “Transportation & Communication” and it’s motto was “World in Motion/World in Touch” I loved it!
http://www.parksoverports.com “The Applied Logistics of a Circular Economy” Transforming Trade Routes into Tourist Traps. I like to think of this as a new POP culture — Parks over Ports is all about Fun & Games! I have a storyboard in mind for a multiplayer interactive educational game. Think MineCraft for the 21st Century. I need eight weeks!
A World Fair Event!
Ground Zero
www.healthandindustry.org — A New School Proposal — See Brochure
Invisible College: Re-Inventing The Commons: Land Grant Universities
www.circularseattle.com — From Global to Local — Closing the Loop in Seattle
www.circularsourcesolutions.com — (CSS) — MicroGrid Solutions / Industrial Feedstocks / Chemurgy
One of the saddest truths I’ve come to learn when researching the climate crisis is that the only reason why we fuel our cars on gasoline, make plastics out of oil instead of agricultural waste is because Alcohol (Ethanol) gets us drunk and Hemp/Cannabis gets us high.
To think that we lost control of a clean energy option due to the extreme bias and moral mismanagement aided by governmental regulation — the sin tax. Political policy was the gateway towards anthropomorphic climate change. To be continued.
www.goodsgeargadgets.com — Goods. Gear. Gadgets is a community owned & operated Fab Lab / Makers Hub located right in the heart of South Seattle’s industrial district. It will be surrounded by a not-yet-developed neighborhood of mixed-use commercial/residential living spaces combining artist lofts with micro-housing in a urban-village setting. The signage is simple “Goods. Gear. Gadgets.” the design of its facade and the flow of its interior will be very utilitarian. This is the HUB for anyone who doesn’t necessarily want to “own” things, but wants access to things when needed. Think REI meets Sears for the sharing economy.
And most importantly, imagine a KIOSK equipped with immersive AR/VR where you will step inside, have your body scanned to size while you interact with a design board displaying an extensive database uploaded from fashion designers from all over the world. When you find the outfit of your choosing, it can be Made on Demand (on-site) same day, AND, you will now have the ability to design an outfit for yourself, in a real-time, blended-reality setting. Within this KIOSK it is a meet your maker experience, where we as creative consumers will have a more personal relationship with the means of production. Taking this one step further, we will now be able to enter our designs into this database, into a Closet Share Program, and/or consign them in the physical space of this Makers-Hub.
In another KIOSK, we will now have the ability to 3D print parts to fix just about anything that is broken, and/or make the prototype for just about anything imaginable, and at the end of every “things” life all parts can be recycled and its fiber repurposed into a new feedstock to begin this process all over again. Waste becomes a resource. In this Makers-Hub all items can be shared, consigned, or recycled.
Coming soon!
Personal Note: What I like most about Make on Demand is that we will no longer need to stabilize a global economy based on the sheer volume of output from thousands of well designed factories located all over the world. With Make on Demand we will now, or in the near future, begin to locate these types of creative HUBs locally, within our communities, which will allow us to make things unique to our own creative musings. Once we begin to truly localize the means of production through Make on Demand we will be able to address other challenges confronting our cities today, namely climate change and resulting sea-level rise. We will become less dependent on the ports for our necessities which will allow us to invest in the natural infrastructure needed to restore and regenerate estuaries, build sea-walls and canals when and where needed, and in the end Make on Demand might become our first line of defense against many of the environmental extremes projected in the not-so-distant future.
I recently finished reading “Designing Reality! How to Survive The Third Digital Revolution” and connected with The Center of Bits & Atoms (MIT). During my study at Singularity University — I would like to invite the authors, the brothers Gershenfeld to help us with designing this new consumer based experience.
www.playdontwork.com — In the Age of Abundance a new narrative evolves: “If you could do anything you wanted, what would it be?”
www.pietimespizza.com / www.pietimespizzaria.com — from Flower to Flour — A Pizzeria based on the love for cannabis flowers, and the industrial properties of HEMP (i.e. I want Hemp pizza boxes, compostables, tables & chairs, I want everything that can be fabricated out of Hemp to be incorporated into this dining experience. We will even grow our own super-chronic hydroponic tomatoes, basil, micro-greens, etc.
And when we receive our consumption license we will build a “Pie Times Pizza Truck” made out of Hemp!
I guess what I need more than anything else in the world, is some time to work on ideas, to create the space where, creatively speaking, I can accomplish some serious writing.
I am hopeful,
Cheers’
Debbie
