ABSTRACT
Contemporary “post-global” developments in the evolution of production and production space are described and analyzed in this chapter. A wide variety of manufacturing initiatives and new forms of production—both material production and “idea production”—are now taking their place in Western cities, alongside the global economy and the diminished twentieth-century industrial economy. This chapter argues that these initiatives need to be supported through design and urban policy, and may form the seeds of an innovative, new production economy that will bring new life to cities.
The initiatives include digitally-enhanced manufacture; the revival of craft techniques; product manufacture that combines handcraft with machine-based fabrication; the “maker movement”; locally-based agriculture and food production; robotics and its potential to eliminate repetitive and unskilled work; home-based workshops; factories specializing in high-precision, small production runs; manufacturing operations closely allied with design that require time-sensitive turnarounds; and “traditional” factories that remain in or return to cities.
