Contribution to Book
Automating Fab Cities: 3D Printing and Urban Renewal
Automating Cities
(2021)
Abstract
Building upon past work on 3D printing, intellectual property and regulation, this Chapter considers the opportunities and challenges of 3D printing in urban design, planning, and renewal (Mendis, Lemley, and Rimmer, 2019). The development of Fab Cities and Maker Cities intersects with the construction of smart cities (Goldsmith, and Crawford, 2014; and Crawford, 2018). The local circular economy focus of Fab Cities and Maker Cities also has a resonance with the planning of climate-resilient cities (Bloomberg and Pope, 2018). Fab Cities and Maker Cities are also means of addressing the focus on sustainable cities and communities in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2015, and the push to implement the right to adequate housing in terms of human rights (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2009). Section 1 looks at the Fab City Global Initiative – which has emerged out of the Barcelona Fab Lab. It considers the concept of a global network of Fab Cities. Section 2 focuses upon the growth of Maker Cities in the United States. It considers some of the opportunities and challenges in respect of this model. Section 3 examines the ambitious project of the United Arab Emirates to integrate additive manufacturing into its construction industry. Section 4 explores future applications of 3D printing in the context of military logistics; disaster relief; and space missions to the moon and Mars.
Keywords
- fab labs,
- makerspaces,
- 3d printing,
- housing,
- building,
- architecture,
- urban design,
- fab cities,
- maker cities,
- intellectual property,
- innovation,
- additive manufacturing,
- urban renewal,
- urban planning,
- property law
Disciplines
Publication Date
2021
Editor
Brydon Timothy Wang and Chien Ming Wang
Publisher
Springer
Citation Information
Matthew Rimmer, 'Automating Fab Cities: 3D Printing and Urban Renewal' in Brydon Timothy Wang and Chien Ming Wang (ed.) Automating Cities, Singapore: Springer, 2021, 255-272.