{"title":"Manufacturing space for inclusive innovation? A study of makerspaces in southern Ontario.","authors":"Tara Vinodrai, Brenton Nader, Christian Zavarella","doi":"10.1177/02690942211013532","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The popular discourse on making and makerspaces is laden with optimistic narratives suggesting that makerspaces act as key institutions that support more inclusive and sustainable forms of local economic development. Despite their popularity, we know little about how makerspaces actually support entrepreneurship and innovation and even less about how they advance the goals of environmental sustainability and social inclusion, particularly in the Canadian context. In an effort to redress these gaps, this paper uses a unique database of makerspaces, complemented with findings from in-depth case studies, to examine the practices of makerspaces in southern Ontario (Canada). Our study finds that while makerspaces offer access to technologies and basic skills training, we find limited evidence that makerspaces generate the promised economic or social outcomes so often attributed to them. Moreover, we find very limited evidence that makerspaces actively seek to be socially inclusive in their membership and programming or encourage environmentally sustainable practices. In other words, the potential of makerspaces, in their current form, to contribute to more inclusive and sustainable forms of local economic and community development is not yet fully realized.</p>","PeriodicalId":47006,"journal":{"name":"Local Economy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8000,"publicationDate":"2021-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/02690942211013532","citationCount":"6","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Local Economy","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/02690942211013532","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2021/5/6 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ECONOMICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 6
Abstract
The popular discourse on making and makerspaces is laden with optimistic narratives suggesting that makerspaces act as key institutions that support more inclusive and sustainable forms of local economic development. Despite their popularity, we know little about how makerspaces actually support entrepreneurship and innovation and even less about how they advance the goals of environmental sustainability and social inclusion, particularly in the Canadian context. In an effort to redress these gaps, this paper uses a unique database of makerspaces, complemented with findings from in-depth case studies, to examine the practices of makerspaces in southern Ontario (Canada). Our study finds that while makerspaces offer access to technologies and basic skills training, we find limited evidence that makerspaces generate the promised economic or social outcomes so often attributed to them. Moreover, we find very limited evidence that makerspaces actively seek to be socially inclusive in their membership and programming or encourage environmentally sustainable practices. In other words, the potential of makerspaces, in their current form, to contribute to more inclusive and sustainable forms of local economic and community development is not yet fully realized.
期刊介绍:
Local Economy is a peer-reviewed journal operating as an interdisciplinary forum for the critical review of policy developments in the broad area of local economic development and urban regeneration. It seeks not only to publish analysis and critique but also to disseminate innovative practice. One particular concern is with grassroots community economic development strategies and the work of voluntary organisations, considered within the context of wider social, political and economic change.