The enduring power of (the non tech) Place in the 4th Digital Revolution

The word "place" comes from the Latin root word "loc".. Once you see those three letters it is easy to understand why so many words that we use are not only deeply connected but gain richer value when connected to the physical: "location, locale, col-locate and even the locomotive (that moves things from one place to another).

Although that trusty steam locomotive was part of the first industrial revolution we now find ourselves living in the fourth cycle. This is the first one to be rooted in the technological concept of “digitisation”. So rather than steam or manufacturing energy, the power of this revolution will derive from technological and non- physical concepts including but not limited to big data, petabytes and teraflops, IOT, AI, AR, robots, cyber and “The Cloud” (ie not the cumulus rain making kind). 

So if it’s a brave new virtual world then what is the role of the physical non- technical one? ie the non – digital place. I think of Dr Seuss’s character The Lorax who “spoke for the trees for the trees have no tongues”. Do we need place warriors, Loraxes of some kind? ie custodians to ensure that place is part and parcel of Industry 4.0?

Passionately I believe we do and thankfully I know we have such folks in offices, organisations, think tanks, community halls and in street squares and in towers of power and at grassroots, eye and birds eye level.

These place champions and advocates are as diverse as places are and as numerous as the derivatives of the word Loc. And their roles are important to ensure that the value of place in the digital economy (which frankly is the economy) is understood and protected.

Despite my role as Digital Innovation lead at GHD (thus perhaps implying all things digital only- which simply is not the case) I believe there is so much value to be realised from our digitally enabled Industry 4.0 “innovation era” if we see that place can enable the very best of our technological and digital capabilities to grow and strengthen.

Take by way of example the flourishing explosion across cities and within communities of innovation districts, co-working spaces, startup hubs, accelerators, incubators, hackathons, ideations, pitch nights – many of these utilise digital applications and create technological solutions that can scale and impact many many others via and with the help of other digital collaborators. 

What is sometimes missing in the focus on the digital solution discovered and praised is that in most of these instances, the creative process that led to the ‘a- ha” and solution happening was because a place was created and provided to allow digitally enabled and passionate people to come together to ask “how and what and why and why not”.

Even Stanford's Homebrew Computing Club and what it enabled - Steve Wozniak credits it for getting his thoughts aligned for the creation of what we now know as the Apple I - happened because the Club was a physical place (aka a humble garage) that brought diverse and technically brilliant people together.

Innovation is a deeply human endeavour so garages and clubs are places that enable such fresh thinking to be fostered.

Having personally been part of another place based innovation ecosystem- ie the development of Melbourne’s Carlton Connect Innovation District, I have worked alongside many brilliant practitioners, academics, thought leaders, participants, residents and users of place and place- based programs like incubators and accelerators. I know from these experiences that our community knew the value of place and its role in fostering an ecosystem that they could take full advantage of in the digital economy we find ourselves.

Of course innovation (fresh thinking that creates value) can be realised without physical co-location. However there are no doubt opportunities to be realised when we create sparkish spaces and porous places where proximity drives the “serendipitous bump encounters”; where silos can be broken down; where digital knowledge can be shared and understood tacitly and where we can collectively tackle complex problems that matter together. 

Innovation is a team sport and a collegial one at its core. Digital and Place go hand in hand as key members of "Team 4IR" and so we must ensure that the team song reflects this; especially if we want in this digital revolution to drive global economic and social transformations that offer equitable prosperity for all.