Liminality, Ephemerality, and Marginality with Impact Makerspaces in the Chinese Urban Fabric: Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Addis Ababa

In the last few years, narratives and imaginaries about maker cultures as well as makerspaces have been flourishing in Chinese cities. With its fast-changing pace, the global maker movement expresses unique features in China and integrates aspects of grassroots and governmental initiatives. Liminal and ephemeral communities of innovation and their spaces represent an opportunity for change for the people, cities and systems in which they flourish. Individuals tinkering and working in these shared spaces, which encourage empowerment, knowledge exchange and self-development, change and evolve, while governmental efforts and initiatives show the need for change in their societal and urban project. Makerspaces, Fab Labs, hackerspaces, innovation labs and events such as Maker Faires, Maker Carnivals or Hackdays, grow allowing a marginal movement to create a strong urban imaginary. How can innovative methods of research be developed to capture the dynamics of such a culture? What is the impact of the government’s interest in bringing new narratives supporting innovation into these maker movements? Where are the makerspaces part of the narrative and the urban imaginary in China? What are the Chinese specificities of this global movement? Access to Internet, connections between people and networks grow, hierarchies change, narratives about innovation evolve and are shaping societal urban projects. The Chinese maker culture, close to entrepreneurship, co-creates partnerships and projects worldwide, for example the "€œDesigned in Ethiopia"€ initiative.