Chicago

As we look to transform our economic and financial systems to support a more just and regenerative economy, we at Capital Institute are aware of how much we have to learn from observing the resiliency of natural systems.

And the more we learn about the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council project as we undertake the research for our upcoming Field Guide to Investing in a Regenerative Economy study, the more we observe parallels between it and what ecologists call an “ecotone.” An ecotone is a transitional zone between contrasting habitats, a forest and a grasslands, for example, where tremendous creative destruction, rich biodiversity, and continuous ecosystem rebalancing known as “the edge effect” occur.

But, as Bill Reed, one of the founders of the rengenerative development movement, explains: “Edges are about more than simply re-balancing—they are about increased potential of relationship and exchange. The possibility of life happens at edges; edges are the bridge and arbiter of relationships—the more edges we have, the richer the potential to improve the resilience of life.” We have come to see the CMRC as just such a vital “bridge,” in this case between the old industrial paradigm and an emerging one where advanced manufacturing will play a central role.