As “innovation” becomes an increasingly prominent buzzword in U.S. urban and regional policy, the authors on this panel offer a range of perspectives on the equity implications of the pursuit of innovation and on the role of public policy in encouraging social inclusion in conjunction with innovation strategies. Jennifer Clark and Thomas Lodato of the Georgia Institute of Technology analyze the production of open government data in Atlanta, revealing the human work and skill required to create and distribute a technology that generally associated with machines. Dillon Mahmoudi of University of Maryland, Baltimore Count explores the bifurcated – and gendered – U.S. labor market for software production and considers the role of labor intermediaries in mitigating inequalities. Laura Wolf-Powers of Hunter College CUNY examines a community coalition’s effort to position unemployed and underemployed residents to gain workforce training opportunities and access to jobs in the context of innovation-branded local development in Philadelphia. Allison Forbes, Nichola Lowe and Noreen McDonald of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill look examine the economics and politics of modern-day apprenticeship. And Nichola Lowe of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and Tara Vinodrai of the University of Waterloo present the case of the Carolina Textile District, illustrating how growing urban policy interest in the maker movement, with its focus on local product design and innovation, can also become a catalyst for revitalizing non-metro manufacturing communities and legacy industries.
Moderator: Nichola Lowe, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
The Work of Smart Cities: Skill and Sociotechnical Change in the Smart City Jennifer Clark, Georgia Institute of Technology; Thomas Lodato, Georgia Institute of Technology
Modes of Production and Gender-based Wage Outcomes in Three Software Cities Dillon Mahmoudi, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Unpacking Inclusive Innovation in West Philadelphia’s University City Laura Wolf-Powers, Hunter College
Apprenticeship 2.0: Maintaining Job Quality through Workforce Intermediation Allison Forbes, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; Nichola Lowe, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; Noreen McDonald, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Institutionalizing the Maker-Manufacturing Nexus: Implications for Spatial Equity and Generational Integration Nichola Lowe, University North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Tara Vinodrai, University of Waterloo
