Urban Manufacturing, MakerSpaces, and Military Veterans

New York, USA

By Steven Davis
makerspace, veterans, community, urban manufacturing

The “makerspace” as an integral part of a local economy, and also as a transition community for military veterans

Guided by the concept of the “makerspace” as an integral part of a local economy, and also as a transition community for military veterans, this project begins an analysis of makerspaces in NYC, maker-based programs for military veterans, and aims to find overlaps between the two that relate to urban manufacturing within local economies.

By analyzing makerspaces, I seek to answer the following questions: what is a model for a makerspace that is financially sustainable, and also inclusive, both socially and economically, to the surrounding community? What features or concepts of the military can be used to build communities that support a transition to civilian life? How can makerspace concepts and characteristics be applied to transition programs for military veterans?

The end goal is to conceptualize a community organized around a combination of both makerspace and military principles that welcomes all, but specifically caters to military veterans, while also integrating with local economic needs.

This portion of the project represents the first steps toward the larger goal, by mapping a selection of makerspaces in NYC, including information about their business and membership models, and also including a small selection of maker-oriented veterans’ programs.

What is a Makerspace?

There is no fixed definition of a “Makerspace”; it is a catch all for any place where people come together to make things. Before the “Maker Movement” popularized the term in the early 2000’s, many places that today identify as makerspaces might previously have simply been called a workshop. The most fundamental feature of a makerspace, is that within the space itself are tools that are shared by members to make physical things. Without the tools and the facilitation of making of physical products, then it might simply be called a co-working space. (Of course, any maker space may also be a co-working space, and any co-working may be part makerspace, or have a makerspace within it). What tools and equipment are in a makerspace is a complete variable. Some may have no more than few 3d printers and CNC lasers. Some may have everything from wood working, to electronics, to metal working, textiles, ceramics, and on and on.

Another fundamental feature of a makerspace is that there is no specific thing that is being made there. If the products of a makerspace were predetermined, then we would call it a production facility or a factory. Beyond shared space and tools, the Maker Movement emphasized community, inclusion, knowledge sharing, and open access. This of course, is an ethos, and can’t be firmly pegged to the definition of a makerspace, each of which has its own “personality”, produced by the interplay between the physical space, those who occupy it and share the tools within, and economic realities.

Within these extremely broad parameters of what we might term a makerspace, New York is unsurprisingly home to a large number and wide variety of such facilities.

New York Makerspaces

The variety of makerspaces found in New York City is as broad as the definition of the term. Some of the most fundamental ways in which they vary are their membership and business models (e.g. university supported, for-profit membership based, public-private partnerships), thematic focus (e.g. electronics vs. woodworking), and capabilities (size of physical space, amount and type of equipment. This map begins including some of those details, to the extent possible.

Network: FutureworksNYC

The NYCEDC has backed the concept of the makerspace as a way to promote job growth and support local manufacturing. Important to the concept of integrating with local economies and financial sustainability, this support has assisted in the formation of a network of makerspaces called Futureworks NYC.

Manufacturing Zones

As the city presses to support a resurgence in manufacturing, it is important to note that in order to fill such a role, a makerspace might require substantial floor space, as well as features like loading docks. Many parts of the city that used to be home to traditional manufacturing, but whose former industries have moved elsewhere, still have such features, and are in need of some repurpose, while their surrounding communities are at risk of displacement due to economic conditions. As exemplified by makerspaces found in Industry City, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and the Brooklyn Army Terminal, many makerspaces are showing up in such areas. The city’s controversial use of zoning, while catering to commercial developers, also often includes makerspaces that cater to surrounding communities, at least in theory.

One such space is the Veterans Future Lab, located in Industry City. Run by NYU, the Veterans Future Lab is backed by the NYCEDC and the NYC Department of Veterans Services (amongst many other partners). This is a good example of a program that aims to support both veterans and local economy with the concept of a makerspace.

Further research will need to include more economic data about the city, as well as economic data about NYC military veterans, such as this map (provided by the NYC Department of Veterans’ Services).