Does a relationship exist between the proliferation of Fab Labs (Fabrication Laboratories) that has taken place on a global scale in recent years and the economic crisis? Since the first lab was set up in Boston in 2003, these artisanal workshops-open to the public and offering tools and services for digital manufacturing-have multiplied exponentially. At first, their spread was rather slow. While it is true that after just one year they numbered 32 in the world, there were only a few additions thereafter, just 13, giving a total of 45 laboratories in 2010. This was still a significant increase, over 40%, but nothing compared to what happened over the following six years, when a veritable explosion took place: the number of laboratories increased 15-fold, to reach the remarkable figure of 686 in 2016. 2 Surprisingly, almost half of them, 331, were located in the European Union. This is a much higher number than in the United States (119), where the phenomenon originated: almost three times in absolute terms, and twice in relative ones, that is, in relation to population. There are in fact 6.5 Fab Labs for every 10 million European citizens, as opposed to only 3.7 for US citizens. Why would such an increase have occurred in the 'old continent' and during the economic crisis? Considering that in Europe their foundation is often linked to the initiative of young-adult enthusiasts, passionate about new technologies, should the reasons be sought in the different economic trends on each side of the Atlantic? On average, for instance, between 2008 and 2015, GDP in the EU grew at a very modest rate (0.4%), three times less than in the US (1.2%), while youth unemployment in the EU reached critical levels (20.4% vs. 11.6%), increasing by 5 percentage points between 2007 and 2015 compared to just one percentage point in the States. As we shall see, there is no simple, straightforward answer. The crisis has probably played its part, albeit indirectly: it raised awareness in a plurality of actors, both institutional and in civil society, with regard to the search for 1 This article is the result of the joint work of the two authors, and the assumptions and arguments developed are the result of their shared reflections. That said, section 2 was written by Francesco Ramella and section 4 by Cecilia Manzo. All the other sections were written jointly by the two authors. 2 This number comes from the Fab Foundations website, August 6, 2016. The Fab Foundation is a non-profit organisation and part of the Fab Lab program at MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms. The Fab Foundation website shows the list of laboratories. The first list present globally was compiled in 2012 by the Center for Bits and Atoms. To be included on the list, it was necessary to send an email with the details of the laboratory. Initially there were 128 Fab Labs, plus 27 "Planned Fab Labs" (on the point of opening). Shortly thereafter, management of the Fab Lab world map passed to the Fab Foundation, which developed the fablabs.io platform. With the new platform, the...
