How ecosystems are born and what they mean for us.
Many are the places that have set out to replicate the vibrant innovation culture of Silicon Valley. But most of them neglect the fact that Silicon Valley actually never was created in the first place. It emerged!
Ecosystems always happen because the circumstances for them exist – and because many independent players take initiatives on their own accord. For me, who is inspired by the potential of ecosystems and also is convinced that we need more of them to have a sustainable future, this is a comforting thought. Instead of being overwhelmed by the task to make an ecosystem emerge, this insight has helped me think and act in new ways.
Many unrelated events coincided when Silicon Valley was born. During the 1940’s and 50’s, a tradition was formed at Stanford University, to start companies based on the research conducted there.
Photograph by Michael from San Jose, California, USA, CC BY 2.0
Hewlett Packard is an example of a current international brand that originates from these early days. Transistors and semiconductors on silicon were frequently used components in the inventions that spawned the companies. This in turn was a main reason for NASA to be founded in this area, when the US engaged in the race for Space and this attracted more investments.
These days were inspired by a general belief that technology could help humanity do things we had previously only read about in comic series and science fiction. Multiple technology leaps have since paved the road to the ecosystem that today employs 1,5 million people in an area half the size of Skåne. One can, of course, derive how it all came about, but it is still a fact that there was never an intention to create what emerged. It just became.
Brad Feld is an entrepreneur and investor from Boulder, Colorado. In his book, ”Startup Communities” (2012), he concludes that ecosystems are built by many so-called “leaders” and that these leaders almost always are entrepreneurs. Just like entrepreneurs, they are self-appointed, and they have their own “skin-in-the-game”, but leaders, according to Feld, also have a rolling 20-year perspective for the place they are active in. That is how he defines “leaders”. Everyone else are “feeders”. They might seem insignificant, but are incredibly important to provide the circumstances for the leaders to take initiatives. Feeders can also get in the way of leaders, if they forget that their job is to create the conditions, not to take the actual initiatives.
Photograph by Stuart Isett/Fortune Brainstorm Tech, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
And this is where I think it gets interesting. These circumstances can almost be seen as a kind of citizenship. Anyone who has been to Silicon Valley could probably recognise this. After just a little while you almost feel a little “Silicon Valley-ish” – you have been infected by a spirit. In this way citizenships are fascinating, not so much as a defining or excluding concept, but rather as an idea to pay forward.
Places often communicate how they want to attract people. But being a citizen is not as much about coming to a place, as it is coming from a place. If you have been here once, you are forever from this place.
Altitude Meetings are currently involved in several projects around placemaking. In Lund we are active in Science Village at Brunnshög and City Hall in the town centre. Both places are good examples of how we develop the thoughts of citizenship. Self-appointed citizens have the opportunity to contribute, but more importantly leave with something unique and valuable – something that you can’t wait to share with others and are keen to come back to get more of.We know that citizen-driven ecosystems hold the keys to turning emerging buildings and infrastructure into living places. A good start to understanding how citizen-driven ecosystems work, is to ask yourself: What are the places where you consider yourself a self-appointed citizen? What have been the take-aways from these places? What have you shared with others?