This is a city that has become highly self-organised in the sharing and exploitation of excess capacities of various assets (e.g. vehicles, spaces, consumer goods, time and skills). It is a nimble and dynamically changing economy, where there is a great diversity of experimentation and innovation through open source, open data and open platforms. A high proportion of workers are freelancers. There has been a rapid growth in agile micro- businesses that produce innovative technologies, products and services to exploit renewable energy and to increase resource and material efficiencies.All new businesses are supported by informal, digitally connected networks. Individuals have also taken up such technologies to become ‘prosumers’ and actively engage with businesses in the design of products.

In this new market context the value of information is rising rapidly compared to materials. Many material products are now manufactured within a distributed system involving globally connected, open-source design studios and an extensive network of local 3D printing fabrication workshops.

Whilst non-profit social entrepreneurialism is strong, small business is primarily profit oriented. Big business and government have significantly less influence in this city where citizens take pride in an entrepreneurial do-it-yourself approach to making life fulfilling and sustainable.

The 80% reduction on greenhouse emissions have arisen from various forms of collaborative production and consumption, including: renewable energy (particularly electricity), diverse shared transport systems; inventive use of and reuse of spaces; a vibrant repair sector; and local manufacturing. Production and storage of electricity from a wide range of technologies form the basis of many small enterprises, so that this is now highly decentralised. There is also peer-to-peer energy trading through local micro-grids.

Information systems for managing energy, water, food, waste and transport systems are highly advanced. Citizens are energy and resource savvy, relying on various digital monitoring and feedback technologies and online information sharing to make better consumption choices. Travel has also been reduced due to the increased use of online digital interactivity; local small businesses and freelance workers operate from home and public spaces.

The social welfare systems is weak, with most workers engaged in various forms of insurance schemes to provide for health, loss of work and retirement.

Economic identity is defined by: agile, entrepreneurial micro-businesses; freelancers collaborating on a project basis. Value is generated through manipulation of information and creation of information rich products and services; there has been a significant shift away from value invested in material products. City governance is evolving around ideas of open source democracy.