To evolve from an economy of extraction to an economy of care we need to evolve from Communication Design to Conversation Design. While Communication Design builds one-directional relationships between corporations and consumers, Conversational Design builds frameworks and pathways for communities. I have not talked about it much, but today is…

“Like an operating system, the medium of infrastructure space makes certain things possible and other things impossible. It is not the declared content but rather the content manager dictating the rules of the game.” — Keller Easterling, Extrastatecraft (2014). Our infrastructures are vital to enabling the complexity of modern life…

In recent years, various macro-level shifts, including public health crises, demographic changes, and climate risks, have had cascading effects that compelled us to reconsider how we govern, plan, and operate our cities. These changes have prompted us to question the prevailing notion of space as a mere real estate asset…

In this final blog in a 3-part series developed in partnership with Samhällskontraktet, we want to share some of the things that didn’t go so well in the process. This work is dense, difficult and emotionally demanding. We feel that it is important to acknowledge that, so that we can…

In this second blog in a 3-part series we are expanding on the reasons behind the Cornerstone Indicator initiative. We are also grounding the concept in the results from the first prototype process, that was developed and run in tri-partnership with Samhällskontraktet and the citizens of Västerås, Sweden. * Throughout…

This 3-part blog series has been developed by Dark Matter Labs and Samhällskontraktet. We have written them to share our collaborative work exploring new approaches to citizen engagement and community led indicators. In respect of your time and cognitive headspace we have divided our reflections into three discrete sections: The…

Institute of Human Rights & Business x Dark Matter Labs Introduction This blog series aims to present the results of the common investigation project of Dark Matter Labs and the Institute of Human Rights and Business (IHRB) which seeks to explore further the opportunities and barriers to just transition in the built environment in Europe (and beyond). This time, we will…

This is the second in a short series of month notes about our Neighbourhood Warmth project. It has also been crossposted on the blog of our project partner, mysociety. Month 1 We wrapped up our first instalment of monthnotes with thoughts on how to tackle our overarching enquiry: “How can we support…

#BendNotBreak This is the final blog in a 4-part series where we have been exploring the emerging work that we are undertaking in partnership with Laudes Foundation. The overall goal of the collaboration is to look with fresh eyes at the challenges and opportunities presented by an equitable decarbonisation of…