ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the rise of the maker movement. It provides a brief overview of key academic ideas about place, which helps to explain the significance of the debates happening in Detroit and Newcastle. The chapter examines the potential place consequences in more depth. While place has existed as long as people have, the way academics have conceptualized place has changed significantly over time. In both Detroit and Newcastle, efforts to link the cities’ industrial heritage with new economic opportunities demonstrate how shared understandings of place can be a powerful cultural anchor amid the turbulence of major transition. These place-making efforts are often framed in a way which mirrors efforts in cities worldwide, rather than reflecting the unique qualities of particular places. It is not hard to see the maker movement’s appeal for industrial cities grappling to find new shared understandings of place in the wake of post-industrial transformation.
