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December 06, 2008

City Eco Lab: soft tools for sharing

The "Soft" department (above) within the City Eco Lab's Cabane a Outils (Tool Shed) presented a variety of soft tools such as software platforms, new economic models, and design research networks. The aim was to make visitors aware of the existence of such ‘soft’ tools and present a selection so that they would not be overwhelmed by what’s out there.

Designers Ellie Thornhill (above, left) and Bethany Koby (right) used a variety of physical containers to 'contain' the various soft tools. Some of these included:

- Local Systems of Exchange

- Complementary Currencies such as the Lewes Pound.

- Short-term car poooling

- Energy Descent Action Plan

- Re-localisation.net

- Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity

- Landshare

- Local Economy Trading System (LETS)

- Spin Farming

- AMAP (French community-suported agriculture (CSA)

- Spot Scout - the eBay of parking spaces (which we reckoned could also be used for rooms)

- Thing Link "Every thing has a story. We help people to link to it"

- Etsy buy and sell all things hand-made

- Co-ops

- Mobile Banking

- Time Bank

- Fair Tracing

- Alternate Reality Games

- Ecosystem Valuation

- Carbon Discosure

- Ecological Footprint Calculator for Schools

- Design Ethnography

- Life Cycle Analysis

- Sustainable Materials Selector

- Ecodesign toolbox

- Sustainable Measures

- Appropriate Software

- Intentional Communities

Posted by John Thackara at December 6, 2008 09:35 PM

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