The IAA ESRC EPSRC funded The Repair Shop 2049 pilot project will focus on the limitations of the recently implemented Right-to-Repair legislation which does not account for the repair of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. It is estimated that by 2030, there will be over 25 billion active IoT physical devices worldwide. Unfortunately, with their lifespans designed to be short, most current IoT devices will end up in landfill in the form of electronic waste.

Using the notion of a future high street ‘Repair Shop’ as its lens, the project team will collaborate with partner The Making Rooms, Blackburn’s community Fabrication Lab, to bring together key stakeholders (repairers/makers, civic leaders, device end-users and manufacturing representatives) to collectively envision pathways for developing new localised, sustainable IoT device repair ecosystems that can contribute to key agendas Net-Zero 2050 and the Circular Economy.

Crucially, the project will consider electronic device repair practices not simply as a method for prolonging the lifecycles of individual products but as an important substrate for a wider socio-technical ecosystem which could improve environmental governance, social equity, and economic resilience within post-industrial communities.

The Repair Shop 2049 project will be open for business from December 2021 – August 2022.

Follow us to keep updated on the project: @RepairShop2049