Foundries of the Future

Dr Teresa Domenech, one of the Hub's principal academics, has contributed to a new book on urban manufacturing: ‘Foundries of the Future: A Guide to 21st Century Cities of Making,’ which has just been launched by TU Delft Open (2020).

Manufacturing in cities? A pandemic offers no better excuse to discover what is made locally.

Whether making face masks or breathing apparatus, processing local food, managing waste, or developing new products to solve urban challenges, this pandemic calls for cities to become more resilient when facing new challenges, and work towards the integration of uses in the context of the circular economy and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The book is a manual for public authorities, planners, designers, community organisations, and enthusiasts looking to support, and develop conditions for local manufacturers in future sustainable cities. It provides a picture of the state and role of manufacturing in the city, and presents four ways manufacturing and cities are intimately interdependent. It then delves into some of the complexity and challenges for manufacturers, but also the opportunities that manufacturing in cities provides to close the loop of materials and energy in the city, as well as move towards more circular ways of production and consumption.

The book was developed by the Cities of Making team, a three-year research project including teams from Brussels (Latitude, BECI, the ULB & VUB), London (UCL & The RSA) and Rotterdam/The Hague (TU Delft). The project was financed through JPI Urban Europe with co-funding by Innoviris, EWRC and the NWO.

You can read, download or purchase a copy via the Cities of Making website: https://citiesofmaking.com/fou...