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Magnificent Desolation in Detroit
An Editorial – By Matt Joyce
Buzz Aldrin once described the surface of the moon as “Magnificent Desolation”.
Detroit now lies slowly falling into ruin. Motor City has stalled, and it’s not alone. Across our country the industry base that manufactured our cars, and provided the resources for countless commercial ventures has fallen into disuse, and disrepair. It’s simply the product of our nearly completed shift away from industry based economy. We cannot compete in that global arena. We have instead taken a leading role in the information based economy. We move information, develop and design new ways of doing, and we keep the books for much of the world.
There’s really nothing functionally wrong with this. It’s what we are best geared for. The US is a stable country, with a highly educated pool of workers to draw from. In fact our higher education is so well respected world wide that many countries considering study in America to be the pinnacle of academic success. In many cases, it is.
But, that doesn’t change the fact that places like Detroit were built for an economy that no longer exists. Recently, Michael Moore wrote an editorial piece discussing the plight of GM. While I disagree with many of his opinions, he does raise a very accurate point. GM is decommissioning a large amount of people and industrial equipment. This isn’t a new trend. There is a growing landscape of derelict resources now littering our nation. The communities around a lot of these former boom towns have imploded and in many cases crime has long since overrun and eventually left these towns. Offices are bustling still, and or schools continue to turn out brilliant minds, but beyond them rotting in the background are the steel mills, the factories, and the auto plants of yesteryear ( or even last year ). We have an opportunity to here. We have resources, powerful resources that lie cold waiting for the warm hands of ingenuity. What we as a nation have never truly lacked in is imagination. Sometimes for the worse, but usually for the better, we can envision an application for anything. At the very heart of this grand opportunity is that perverse desire to use and reuse, that the hacker space movement is growing to be famous for.
The word hacker has a mixed and argued past. Some say the etymology of the word is tied to hobbyists through the word hacknye. But all would agree that the term reaches beyond the realm of computers and embodies the ideals of innovation. Moving in new directions, defeating complex and logical obstacles, and ultimately carving out new territories for intellectual exploration are at the heart of what hacking is. That ideal has formed the basis for the international hacker space movement. Combining the hip new wave of makers, crafters, and hackers these physical establishments have become community resources that enable innovators to achieve successes far beyond their own singular means. And in providing that opportunity all they have asked is that those who make use of their physical resources give back to the community in education, and continued sharing of industry.
You see, this is the internet generation. We grew up being told the Internet was where we would find our futures. From dotcom economies to web 2.0 and beyond our generation has formed the architecture for America’s information based economy. We’ve made her a Juggernaut too. But, we have been stifled as a result. The garage band is dead to Guitar Hero, shop class is dead to budget cuts, and we use our cell phones to call general contractors when our breakers flip. We’ve been betrayed by our own single mindedness.
“Overspecialization breeds in weakness.”
For those of us victimized by our recent economic recession, the sudden loss of our desks, and our blackberry gods has left us adrift in more ways than one. In our repose, we find our eyes are drawn to the Americana that our parents extolled the virtues of, and the terrific lie of our own success. And in our necessity we are beginning to invent new industry, new economic challenges, and a direct assault on our own mistaken upbringing.
Hacker spaces are not all that different from privately controlled libraries. They provide an organized effort to bring complex / prohibitively expensive, or difficult technology into communities that have never had access to this technology before. Much like how the early libraries spread literacy, hacker spaces spread practical literacy in science and engineering. And the results serve the public well being, across the board.
Providing a well managed and safe environment in our communities, for people to pursue innovation in their own lives serves the public interest in a number of ways. It provides new avenues for hands on education. It also Increases the applicable capabilities of our workforces. Puts technically or financially prohibitive technology into the hands of diverse markets. And more than that it provides an opportunity for meritocracy to once again take the reigns in our markets.
We can take advantage of the bounty of our fallen automotive industry to augment a nationwide push to provide our people, and subsequently our workforce with a positive force in education, innovation, and simple self enablement. Hacker spaces don’t expect everyone who walks through the doors to be hell bent on creating the next great thing. We’re glad as hell to show someone how they can maintain their own electronics, or bolster their confidence in approaching any technology they might encounter in their daily lives. That infrastructure could empower people, business, and our economy.
The shift from a skilled labor force in the united states to an information based economy has left our nation somewhat reliant on financial services institutions, and federal / state government. There’s low diversity in the US markets. And simply put, that means lowered creativity, and lowered competitiveness.
Opening up opportunities for legal innovation and infusing the market with smaller business ventures ultimately is a good thing. We’re not just diversifying our economy, we’re diversifying our people. We’re providing new perspectives and giving a tremendous educational resource to people who rely upon practical skills to make their trade. It is my firm belief as I look at the desolation that has overtaken this infrastructure that there is a magnificent world of opportunities for it to once again serve our nation. Opening up these resources to the public is an imperative. We cannot waste this chance.
References:
Detroit Photos taken from TunnelBug Creative Commons Licensed.
Special Innovation Zone: Imagination Without Regulation
Goodbye, GM… Michael Moore
Information Regarding hacker spaces
