First, let's clear up the definition of this word: it's NOT a bad thing! Hackerspaces (aka Makerspaces) are centers for innovation, collaboration, learning and fostering start-ups. Many traditional barriers to idea generation are removed by encouraging openness. A great example is the New Factory space located in the Finlayson Centre (http://www.finlayso The area in south downtown Fort Worth around Jones Street, particularly near the Fort Worth Intermodal Transit Center, would be ideal. Train station, convention center, UTA satellite campus-- all good neighbors for such a thing. There are several surface parking lots that could be repurposed, and a multistorey garage erected right across from the station to handle parking. With the surface lots removed, the Water Gardens could be extended, and small supporting shops and restaurants added. See the link to my Jones Street Master Revitalization Plan below. I believe the facility should be owned by the public and managed by the city. If a large enough facility is identified, it could host small start-ups, a coworking space, event and training rooms, and possibly even a maker lab. I could see a place for high school students to stage their science fair experiments, for SCORE mentoring, open source meetups, etc. It would be cool if the facility itself was hackable to an extent. Imagine status/consumption displays at point-of-use for power, water, etc. Members would be encouraged to contribute improvements to reduce consumption, improve space usage, etc. Name suggestion: Cowtown Collaboration Center. One question is, does a suitable facility exist or would one have to be created? It should have a lot of charm, and not be very "clinical".
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