Imagining Fab City Montréal
2019-2023
Launch
In the presence of the first co-promoters and partners, two events in May and June 2019 aimed to introduce participants and project leaders to the Fab City concept, to offer an overview of initiatives and companies from here and elsewhere in the world, to activate reflections to facilitate the dream for Montréal, and to activate the mobilization of co-promoters, partners and ambassadors of the codesign process of Fab City Mtl.
This first phase of the process made it possible to mobilize a maximum of actors around the objectives of Fab City, to collect emerging aspirations and to give a Montréal color to the participation in the movement.
Interviews
A series of structured interviews is conducted with project leaders and innovative organizations identified during the mapping (including at the Fab City Amsterdam Summit, at the Impact Fest, at a workshop at La Factry, at a 5@7 at the DesjardinsLab, and at the Seoul and Sao Paulo regional summits, through the Fab City Paris meetings, and participation in the “Study Mission to Seoul, sharing economy and urban commons”, via C.I.T.I.E.S.. This exploration, upstream of the codesign activities, allows to enrich the programming of activities and to engage new partners and experts who are invited to join the activities.
Mapping and studies
In partnership with network leaders involved in sustainable development, land use planning, circular and collaborative economy and participatory city initiatives, the activation of a continuous mapping allows to identify the present dynamics, both at the level of emerging initiatives, small and large organizations, public authorities and research.
Mapping will make it possible to generate a reference of inspiring experiences that can be shared with local actors, but also with the global community, and to mobilize broad participation in the various activities. The mapping also allows to identify the planned activities, from local to international, where it is relevant to present the Workshop. Analyses of the activities underway in the Fab Cities and of the global initiative also enrich the programming.
Codesign Events
A series of codesign activities will bring together all actors (citizens, organizations, researchers and institutions, public administrations, local and international) wishing to share and imagine scenarios and initiatives to make Montréal a Fab City. This series of activities will also activate a call for projects that will contribute to the organization of the Fab City Montréal Campus and the content of the Fab City Summit Montréal.
A collaborative day to build Fab City Montréal together, a locally productive and globally connected metropolis, which stands out in the textile and fashion industry through innovation and ecological and social responsibility, held on March 25, 2022.
Prototype and experiment
2021
Fab City Campus
The Fab City Montréal Campus, which will take place as part of the Fab City Montréal Summit, will be an opportunity to showcase initiatives and organizations involved in the city autonomy movement and to prototype the initiatives imagined in 2019-2021. It will also be an opportunity to animate a series of codesign activities to continue the development of initiatives adding the participation of stakeholders from all over the world and thus promoting pollination and international influence.
The Campus will consist of a three (3) days showcase as part of FAB16 and the Fab City Montréal Summit. This showcase will highlight not only projects from the “imagine” phase of the process, but also local and global initiatives that will be present in participatory discovery mode with the general public. The Campus will also include thematic laboratories deployed on the urban territory and accessible to the general public, where citizens and specialists involved in the resilient cities movement will concretely deploy their projects to advance knowledge.
The Fab City Summit and its Campus is a three (3) days international event that brings together the team at the heart of the global Fab City initiative and more than one thousand (1000) key players interested and involved in the movement. The Summit is a series of conferences and workshops offered by global and local leaders who will in light of the global issues and concrete initiatives surrounding Fab City issues.
Integrating and engaging
2022-2023
The last series of activities to animate the codesign process will identify the most promising initiatives, consolidate commitments and activate collective efforts towards a long-term structuring of the movement for Montreal and for Quebec.
Fab City Montréal – Montréal Ecosystem of Continuous Experimentation
We hope that all the steps taken will create a unique dynamic in Montréal. The Metropolis, which wishes to be a leader in the sectors of the future and a reference in terms of inclusive and sustainable economic growth, has all the assets to join the Fab City movement, a productive, resilient and sustainable city. This commitment could inspire other cities in Quebec and Canada.
Fab District – Fab City prototype at the borough level
We plan to pursue the creation of a space for experimentation of the Fab City on a local scale through collaboration with the Ahuntsic-Cartierville Borough and the SDC District Central. Historic breeding ground for manufacturing activities, the District Central area is undergoing a major transformation and is already home to a diversity of service and production companies. It is a new district in effervescence developed around three designated business poles: design – urban manufacturing – technology.
The Campus Fab City Montréal 2023 is deployed in the territory of the District Central of Montréal where citizens, organizations and specialists involved in the movement of resilient cities concretely deploy their projects to advance knowledge. The Campus also offers online inspiring encounters with actors from the Fab City of the Americas.
With the main theme of the biodiversity of the Americas, Campus Fab City Montreal offers seven main topics to co-create meaningful stories: education for the future, manufacturing ecosystem, distributed energy, blockchain for all, bioregional production and territorial design, the economy of nature, open innovation and citizen participation.