From the Early Adopter’s Dilemma to the Game of Gigs: Building the Information Rich Commons

[Commentary] The arc of history is long but every now and then, its curve steepens and you can see the actual moment, not just the gradual sweep, of change. We are at such a moment. It entails the creation of a new commons -- an information rich commons -- that will define a generation of cities. In the last 40 years our country has often overlooked the value of the commons but if there is any audience that should understand the importance of the creation of the commons, it is cities. Cities have built their foundation and created value not by investment in personal goods but by investing in what we share.
[Blair Levin is a Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Metropolitan Policy Program of the Brookings Institute]