https://civic.mit.edu Creating Technology for Social Change Thu, 19 Jun 2014 11:00:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.4.2 https://civic.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2018/03/cropped-CivicMedia_Symbol_K_RGB-32x32.png https://civic.mit.edu 32 32 https://civic.mit.edu/2014/06/19/peer-economy-recap-transportation-licensing-hearing-in-cambridge/ Thu, 19 Jun 2014 11:00:00 +0000 http://civic-homepage.wordpress.brownbag.me/2014/06/19/peer-economy-recap-transportation-licensing-hearing-in-cambridge/ This last Tuesday, the Cambridge Licensing Commission held a hearing to discuss regulations concerning unregistered cabs, including transportation network companies (think Uber, Lyft, SideCar—peer-to-peer platforms that offer private point-to-point car service) and rogue cabs (not registered with the city and not participants with a TNC). A proposal—Regulations for Smartphone Technology for Taxicabs and Limousines—served as grounding for the discussion around how to regulate private transportation and/or update the definition of private transportation. An alert went out […]]]> https://civic.mit.edu/2014/05/18/peer-economy-keep-it-real-to-catalyze-the-sharing-economy/ Sun, 18 May 2014 23:46:00 +0000 http://civic-homepage.wordpress.brownbag.me/2014/05/18/peer-economy-keep-it-real-to-catalyze-the-sharing-economy/ https://civic.mit.edu/2014/03/01/will-it-happen-a-makerspace-for-the-homeless/ Sat, 01 Mar 2014 22:59:00 +0000 http://civic-homepage.wordpress.brownbag.me/2014/03/01/will-it-happen-a-makerspace-for-the-homeless/ https://civic.mit.edu/2014/02/17/peer-economy-medias-place-as-herald-and-tastemaker/ Mon, 17 Feb 2014 23:35:00 +0000 http://civic-homepage.wordpress.brownbag.me/2014/02/17/peer-economy-medias-place-as-herald-and-tastemaker/ People are often boggled when I follow up my research interest in the future of work with the name of my M.S. program: Comparative Media Studies at MIT. While I could go on about how economic security is the cornerstone for meaningful pursuits—including civic participation—here’s a direct media tie in. The following is an excerpt from my thesis draft.  The Fordist framework1 is fraying quickly. Economic decline, technological displacement and globalization have resulted in a shortage […]]]> https://civic.mit.edu/2014/02/14/scaling-the-unicorns-diverse-perspectives-that-serve-the-public-good/ Fri, 14 Feb 2014 11:38:00 +0000 http://civic-homepage.wordpress.brownbag.me/2014/02/14/scaling-the-unicorns-diverse-perspectives-that-serve-the-public-good/ In a room of urban planners, architects, engineers, data viz experts, designers, programmers, and media professionals, we asked, “how do we scale the unicorns?” Unicorns are those perspectives we need, the ones we easily demand but are hard to find. Women coders, technologists in local government, architects in humanitarian aid, geographers in newsrooms. Unicorns, by rahuldlucca on Flickr In this case, we were a room of open government, civic technology junkies. Some were former Code […]]]> https://civic.mit.edu/2014/02/03/peer-economy-why-the-peer-economy-comes-off-as-share-washing/ Mon, 03 Feb 2014 10:25:00 +0000 http://civic-homepage.wordpress.brownbag.me/2014/02/03/peer-economy-why-the-peer-economy-comes-off-as-share-washing/ Pay attention to Tom Slee; he’s snide, but he’s spot-on. In a recent blog post, he neatly sums up how peer economy proponents appear to advocate selectively for its place in the formal economy. When should the sharing economy be treated as part of the real economy, and when should it not? Are you confused? Here is a short guide for the perplexed.   When the sharing economy should be excluded from the formal economy: […]]]> https://civic.mit.edu/2014/01/29/peer-economy-is-collaborative-consumption-an-excuse-to-own-more/ Wed, 29 Jan 2014 11:26:00 +0000 http://civic-homepage.wordpress.brownbag.me/2014/01/29/peer-economy-is-collaborative-consumption-an-excuse-to-own-more/ Since Rachel Botsman coined the term “collaborative consumption,” independent analysts, corporate consultants, startups and thought leaders have all translated the idea for diverse audiences. The Mesh author Lisa Gansky* has said it’s about access, not ownership. Resulting questions ask whether certain generations are more amenable to sharing. Are urban areas predisposed to sharing? Is Europe an intrinsically more sharing culture than America? Can this ethic be rolled into environmental benchmarks? Co-living, coworking, lending and borrowing… some […]]]> https://civic.mit.edu/2014/01/23/peer-economy-calling-out-companies-on-socioeconomic-inequality/ Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:20:00 +0000 http://civic-homepage.wordpress.brownbag.me/2014/01/23/peer-economy-calling-out-companies-on-socioeconomic-inequality/ Recently, a reporter from Marketplace called me for a radio piece. Two Harvard profs just released a study that examined the correlation between pricing and race on Airbnb. Airbnb’s racist! Well that’s not actually how the professors said it, but that’s what many headlines have looked like. Image by Effie Yang I didn’t make the radio cut, but in my quick interview, I defined the peer economy and then suggested that the companies are not […]]]> https://civic.mit.edu/2014/01/16/peer-economy-the-home-stretch/ Thu, 16 Jan 2014 12:12:00 +0000 http://civic-homepage.wordpress.brownbag.me/2014/01/16/peer-economy-the-home-stretch/ The radio silence is over; the last time I posted specifically for the Civic blog was fall 2013. I’m not continuing onto a Ph.D. after June, so before I leave my post as an academic who researches the peer economy, I’m going to report what I’m seeing and sensing as I see and sense it. 20-20! Get it?! This will also be the last semester of bad puns. To keep myself accountable, here’s a smattering […]]]> https://civic.mit.edu/2013/11/12/shareable-what-fan-culture-can-teach-us-about-the-peer-economy/ Tue, 12 Nov 2013 09:10:00 +0000 http://civic-homepage.wordpress.brownbag.me/2013/11/12/shareable-what-fan-culture-can-teach-us-about-the-peer-economy/