Summary
We will explore the growing movement of popup cities/villages and how these long-term gatherings serve as spaces for implementing ideas incubated in the crypto space and other frontier industries. We’ll host discussions, workshops, and showcases of technology developed at popup cities throughout SEA and the world leading up to DevCon.
Motivation and Rationale
How would this community hub enhance attendee experience?
The Popup Cities Community Hub will provide DevCon attendees with a unique opportunity to engage with the concept of popup cities and hear directly from some of the organizers in the space, meet others who are interested in these topics, and see the technology that is being created at these gatherings. We imagine that a lot of folks will be curious about how their projects could be relevant to these spaces as well and how they might be able to get involved in the future if they have not already. We will bring together a diverse set of organizers to share their learnings and insights.
Complementing the Main Programme
The hub will complement DevCon’s main program by focusing on the practical application of theories discussed in talks and workshops as they relate to popup city environments. We’ll host many hands-on workshops with builders who will share what they’ve built over the past month in a popup city environment. For example, ZuPass was originally conceived at the popup city Zuzalu, and is now being used at DevCon, so we can host a session on the story of how this was developed and supported, as well as the tech itself. There are many other examples of projects that we’ll loop in, like Cursive and projects from Summer of Protocols that are developed during the Protocol Worlds program at Edge City Lanna.
We will also host discussions about broader topics that allow us to zoom out and think big. What role does Ethereum play in society at large? How can we move further towards this future? What can cities and societies look like, when informed by Ethereum values?
Significance of the Topic
As we’ve seen with the rise of experiments like Zuzalu, Edge City, The Network School, Aleph, and others, popup cities offer a new surface area for exploring and implementing ideas developed in the crypto space. These gatherings are significant because they allow for the testing of governance models, technological innovations, and cultural practices in a real-world, collaborative setting. A Community Hub is the best format to address this topic because it allows for continuous engagement and interactive learning, which would be difficult to achieve in a single talk or workshop.
Implementation
Production Requirements: We have an amazing team of organizers so the production should be very smooth! We’ll gladly take the items that were offered in the Community Hub description, including at least a few chairs, power outlets, 2-3 whiteboards, one desk (if possible!) and a screen. In addition we’ll handle our own printing needs, and we’ll make sure the space looks lovely with plants and decorations.
Sample Programme:
Day 1: Introduction to Popup Cities
Morning sessions: The evolution of popup cities
Early afternoon sessions: Designing and making popup cities — meet the organizers!
Late afternoon sessions: Collaboration in popup cities and how to get involved
Day 2: Governance and Social Technologies
Morning sessions: Implementing decentralized identity systems in communities
Early afternoon sessions: Social contracts and ties in popup cities — creating new norms while building interconnected communities
Late afternoon sessions: Do-ocracy — governing through doing
Day 3: Technology, Culture, and Community Building
Morning sessions: Products from popup cities showcase: ZuPass, Cursive, Community Graphs, TinyCloud
Early afternoon sessions: Designing cultural rituals that enhance community cohesion
Late afternoon sessions: Building tech-enabled spaces for creative collaboration / Integrating AI into community infrastructure and governance
Day 4: Protocol Worlds (collab with Summer of Protocols)
Morning sessions: Introduction to protocols as a field
Afternoon: Project demonstrations from SoP participants at Edge City Lanna
Team
Who are the list of dedicated people that will organise and be fully responsible for the Community Hub? Why are they best suited to drive this community hub? What expertise do they offer in this topic?
This hub will be a team effort with many folks involved, but full responsibility will be taken on by Janine Leger and Timour Kosters, the co-creators of Edge City, to make sure it is at a high level of quality and is well organized. We’ll also work with Chance McAllister who we’ve collaborated with before.
We each have a lot of experience in this space. Janine is a co-creator of Zuzalu and has built four popup cities in collaboration with Timour since. Chance has spent extended time in 5 different popups and has conducted interviews with 103 popup participants as part of a larger research project.
We are also excited to convene leaders from across the space, including folks from Zuzalu, Network School, and many of the popup city projects that have evolved from Zuzalu. We will also be joined by Tim Beiko and Venkatesh Rao from Summer of Protocols, who have agreed to co-program one of the days of the hub.
How will you ensure that the hub stays free from marketing and avoids promoting specific tokens or projects? How will you guarantee that the project’s interests do not interfere with this requirement?
We will ensure the hub remains marketing-free by setting clear guidelines for all participants and organizers. Discussions will focus on broad concepts and community-driven initiatives rather than specific projects. The specific communities mentioned, like Zuzalu or Summer of Protocols, are communities and research-based projects, not entities that have a vested interest in financial reward. We, as the organizers, will oversee all sessions to ensure that the content aligns with the hub’s educational objectives.
Thanks so much for the consideration!