[hackerspaces] Post: i3 Detroit: The Making of a Hackerspace

Wed Apr 22 21:57:52 CEST 2015

Thank you for such a detailed response, Ed. Charlie's, I appreciate the additional information.

I've been researching social impact measurement amongst maker spaces (of varying inclinations) in the US and UK for UK-based spaces targeting employment issues (e.g. makers being priced out of the London workspace market; evolving one's craft to the point of being a sustainable business).

Interestingly, because of the cost of space, makers are being pushed into neighborhoods with higher poverty rates and the community engagement that has arisen is rooted in a sense empathy for shared struggles. Would love to hear from others who have engaged in intentional diversity/engagement efforts.

Cheers,
Rebecca

Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 22, 2015, at 2:47 PM, Edward L Platt <ed at elplatt.com<mailto:ed at elplatt.com>> wrote:

Great question Rachel.

I've discussed this both on and off list int he past. In particular:
http://lists.hackerspaces.org/pipermail/discuss/2013-January/007129.html
https://elplatt.com/hackerspaces-and-inclusion

There are a range of factors. Here is a non-exhaustive list. Note that I've been less involved the past couple years, so some of this may have improved recently.

Founder effect. The founders were all middle-class white men. We were the ones who were tapped into the tech scene and had the resources to start the space. The space has become more diverse, but slowly. I should mention that the photo was taken in the earlier days, so the space has become a bit more diverse in recent years.

Lack of outreach. Even if a space is doing nothing to discourage diversity, nothing will get better. As far as I know, i3 hasn't made any coordinated outreach efforts.

Harassement, sexism, racism. i3 has been ahead of the game on implementing a harassment policy, but the one time a complaint was filed, the then-CEO killed it without explanation. During the years I was at i3, I always heard that women felt surprisingly comfortable and welcome there. In more recent years, I've heard complaints that women are sometimes treated like either someone's girlfriend or hit on. I've also heard complaints from black men who believe they're being treated with suspicion. After hearing details, it's not clear that they were, but in an environment like Detroit, if you can't tell if someone's racist or not it has the same chilling effect as being racist.

Segregation. Metro Detroit is one of the most segregated areas in the country. While i3 is only a half-mile outside the city limit, the immediate area is not very racially diverse. Although still much more divese than some of the outer-ring suburbs. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/14ce129a10af0d4a

Cost and classism. Membership and materials are expensive. There is an attitude among some members that "if you can't afford membership, you don't belong here." While I was on the board I pushed very hard to pass a need-based "makership" which created a free membership for every 10 paid members, but it was never implemented. A large portion of the minorities in Metro Detroit fall into the poorer, working class.

Transportation. This is really related to cost, but Detroit is *huge* and Metro Detroit is *really huge*. Public transit is abominable, and many of the poorer and minority residents can't afford cars. The legacy of racism is built into the road infrastructure as well. Many through-streets dead-end just before 8 Mile Rd (the city limit) and it's often illegal to turn onto the ones that don't.

-Ed

On Wed, Apr 22, 2015 at 9:10 AM, Rachel Uwa <info at schoolofma.org<mailto:info at schoolofma.org>> wrote:
hi Edward,

thanks for sharing! one thing that came to mind is that the main image has not much diversity for being in Detroit. What does the community attribute this to out of curiosity? Do you also do events for the public or just have members pay to use the space?

no judgement, I know diversity doesn't always come easy if ever, but it's definitely worth it to
think about.. no doubt you all have I assume? thanks in advance for your reply:)

kind regards,
Rachel

On Wed, Apr 22, 2015 at 2:45 PM, Edward L Platt <ed at elplatt.com<mailto:ed at elplatt.com>> wrote:
Here's a post I wrote reflecting on being a part of i3 Detroit over the first several years. Thought y'all might find it interesting.

https://readfold.com/read/elplatt/i3-detroit-the-making-of-a-hackerspace-HJbifeqd

--
Edward L. Platt
http://elplatt.com
http://civic.mit.edu/users/elplatt
http://i3detroit.com
@elplatt<http://twitter.com/elplatt>

This electronic mail message was sent from my desktop personal computer.  Please forgive any long-winded, overly-prosaic ramblings.

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Edward L. Platt
http://elplatt.com
http://civic.mit.edu/users/elplatt
http://i3detroit.com
@elplatt<http://twitter.com/elplatt>

This electronic mail message was sent from my desktop personal computer.  Please forgive any long-winded, overly-prosaic ramblings.
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