Fab City
Global Initiative

Until cities produce (almost) everything they consume.

Years

Days

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Join a global challenge to transform cities

Fab City is an innovative urban model that relocalises production to the city and its bioregional context, by empowering communities with the technology to build their own sustainable, innovative, and regenerative urban futures.

Apply now 👉 Master in Design X Distributed Innovation 📽️ Watch the Fab Bhutan Challenge Documentary 🌿 Fab City Summit 2023

And the winners of the 2023 Fab City Awards are…

we are thrilled to announce the exceptional projects that have been recognized. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the Fab Cities that submitted their innovative initiatives and to the dedicated jury members who meticulously evaluated each project.

Explore the winning projects!

We gather city leaders, enthusiasts, researchers, industry, and policymakers across projects, programs, events, and courses for productive cities and regenerative futures.

Upcoming events Join our Network

52
Cities and regions in the Fab City Network
9
Global summits
25+
Global collaborating organisations
1200+
Members in our global community

Drive change in your community

Looking for resources, ideas, and toolkits for citizen engagement and community building for sustainable development? Find inspiration for creative hubs, maker spaces, fab labs, and civic groups across co-design, grassroots innovation, and people-powered change-making!

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Join the Fab City Community - Collaborate and Innovate towards a Sustainable Future

Student testimonials

Annie Ferlatte

Annie Ferlatte, a skilled architectural technician and industrial designer from Montreal, Quebec, is dedicated to advancing sustainable and forward-thinking design in her community. Through immersive learning in a full-stack program, she turned her project concepts into tangible realities, directly benefiting her community. Annie’s project tackles the shift from nature-rich outdoor spaces to indoor-focused lifestyles, highlighting the decline in sensory benefits and health risks posed by indoor air pollutants. She achieves this by applying permaculture principles to indoor environments, reintroducing diverse plants, microorganisms, fungi, and animals. The ultimate aim is a universally adaptable method that brings nature indoors, promoting well-being through local adaptability and resource awareness. From idea to execution, the fab lab was pivotal in her journey to make a meaningful real-world impact.

See her project

Victor Freundt

Victor Freundt, a pioneering industrial designer from Peru and founder of the first Fab Lab in Latin America,Fab Lab Lima in 2009 found fresh inspiration through his MDDI journey. His participation ignited the inception of the innovative Tourism Lab, where Victor combines digital fabrication skills with community development expertise. This groundbreaking initiative aims to reshape tourism by fostering collaborations and circular innovations, linking artisans, tourists, and Fab Labs. Victor’s MDDI experience showcases how knowledge can be harnessed for real-world change, echoing the values of Fab Labs and the broader Fab City movement.

See his project

Giulia Conforti Montasell

Giulia Conforti, a Catalan-born based in Frankfurt, decided to upgrade her background in policy making, to seek a deeper knowledge in technology, and look for ways to apply it to innovative projects. During MDDI, Giulia has been actively tackling the issue of food waste management in Europe. By employing fermentation biotechnology as a means to preserve food and maximise its health benefits, coupled with collaboration efforts with local markets and school communities, Giulia is designing an open collection of fermented products that not only combat food waste but also contribute to improved health and wellness. Her innovative approach is gaining recognition for its positive impact on sustainability and community engagement.

See her project

Yitang Cui

Yitang Cui, a Shanghai entrepreneur is tackling the pressing challenge of human-induced climate change head-on. With her groundbreaking initiative called 'mugu,' Yitang is inspiring urban dwellers to combat the issue of greenhouse emissions. She achieves this by teaching them to grow and enjoy mushrooms using discarded coffee grounds from the coffee sector. This ingenious approach not only minimises greenhouse emissions but also sparks a heightened awareness of climate change's urgency. Yitang's efforts exemplify a practical way to address environmental concerns, underlining the potential of individual action to drive meaningful change.

See her project

Gabriel Tavas

Gabriel Tavas, an entrepreneur with a science background in sustainable design based in Chicago, USA, joined the Master in Design for Distributed Innovation to work on one of his lifetime dream projects. Gabriel wants to build regenerative technologies to recover natural ecosystems, and that's why he has partnered with the Urban Rivers initiative to develop their master project. Together, they have successfully prototyped and implemented a bio-water filtering system using mussels in the Chicago river. This innovative application is now ready to be scaled and implemented in urban rivers around the world, and Gabriel seems to be determined to do it.

See his project

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Latest news

Metabolic and Fab City Foundation Unveil CENTRINNO Cartography Findings in a New Blog Post!

How do we design truly universal processes to guide transformations towards regenerative communities? In this new collaborative blog post, Metabolic, Fab City Foundation, and CENTRINNO embark on an exploration of this question, reflecting on a journey to develop global solutions. Together, we hosted a series of insightful global webinars, specifically crafted to understand how to […]

Fab City European Meetup Sparks Inspiration and Connectivity at Ars Electronica in Linz through Art and Tech

Inspired collaborations, insightful tours, and the commencement of the CENTRINNO Fellowship Program marked a successful event.

And the winners of the 2023 Fab City Awards are…

The 2023 Fab City Awards have come to a close, and we are thrilled to announce the exceptional projects that have been recognized. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the Fab Cities that submitted their innovative initiatives and to the dedicated jury members who meticulously evaluated each project. 1st Prize (two) MDDI 50% Scholarship […]

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