Join Us!
Tickets for our 2026 National Gathering in Philadelphia are available now.
2026 National Gathering
Imagining the Future of Local Production
May 12 – May 14, 2026Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
We’re hosting “Imagining the Future of Local Production” in partnership with the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Commerce.
Overview
Mechanism’s National Gatherings are like prom for people who love local manufacturing and production. That’s what one of our past National Gathering attendees told us, and we couldn’t have described the environment of these events any better.
Mechanism creates a joyous space where makers, manufacturers, policymakers, educators, artists, faith organizations, community leaders, and more work together to strategize and dream about what’s possible when production is rooted in community, care, and shared stewardship.
With local tours, rapid share presentations by thought leaders in modern production practices, and a Design Jam where participants will identify creative ways to turn underutilized urban spaces into spaces for community-led production, it’s the type of conference that goes far beyond just sitting and listening.
Formerly called the Urban Manufacturing Alliance, Mechanism works in collaboration with communities and manufacturers to create production ecosystems that increase local resilience, vitality, and well-being. We’re a leading voice in this space, which is why past attendees say there’s no other event quite like a Mechanism Gathering.
At Mechanism’s 2026 National Gathering in Philadelphia, we’ll learn and collaborate together around four themes: climate adaptation, circular economies, community power, and shared ownership.
You’ll hear about the innovative practices of our confirmed rapid share presenters:
- Fab City
- Circular Philadelphia
- Kensington Corridor Trust + Kensington Food Co
- North American Center for Post Growth Research
- Pennsylvania Fibershed
- Remark Glass
- WXY Studio
- Taproot Earth
- Haverford College
+ more TBA!
We also have hands-on, interactive events: a Design Jam, a Futures Workshop led by Love + Order, and a walking tour of sites in South Kensington.
Learn more about what’s in store below!
Coming from out of town?
Mechanism has a block of rooms reserved at the Cambria Hotel Philadelphia Downtown. Room bookings at our group rate can be accessed through this link.
Other hotels we recommend can be found on this google map.
Schedule and Agenda
Schedule
Futures Thinking Workshop
We will begin the day with a workshop to get us in a generative and creative mindset. The workshop will serve a dual purpose: setting a shared cognitive and imaginative frame for the convening, and piloting a futures-based methodology that will inform our work throughout the day.
Inspiration Now Rapid Shares
Rapid Share sessions are 6 minute lightning-style presentations, giving a quick picture of the work organizations are doing around production in Philadelphia and across the country.
Invited presenters include: Fab City, Circular PHL, PA Fibershed, and Blue Tin Production.
New Inspiration on the Horizon Rapid Shares
This version of our Rapid Share sessions is new for Mechanism. As an organization, we are broadening the definition of what organizations and which communities we see as contributing to a local production ecosystem. We will be hearing from presenters from climate advocates, faith organizations, well-being initiatives, and more.
Invited presenters include: Taproot Earth; Research & Degrowth; and Full Frame Initiative
Design Jam: Activating Space for the Future of Production
Participants work in teams to identify challenges, generate solutions, build prototypes, and present bold new ideas in this hands-on workshop. Over the course of the afternoon, participants will focus on reactivating underutilized spaces across the city (empty high-rise offices, vacant storefronts, deteriorating buildings). Rather than seeing these spaces as symbols of decline, we will reframe them as opportunities for creativity, entrepreneurship, training, and local production.
Design Jam
Whenever you pass an empty storefront or an underutilized building, do you ever imagine what would happen if those spaces were given to communities?
What if they went from quiet spaces to spaces buzzing with life as people from nearby neighborhoods collaborated on projects and making/manufacturing initiatives that met their needs?
In this Design Jam, participants will focus on underutilized spaces across the city like empty high-rise offices downtown, vacant storefronts along commercial corridors, and deteriorating buildings in need of rehabilitation. Rather than seeing these spaces as symbols of decline, the Design Jam reframes them as opportunities for creativity, entrepreneurship, training, and local production.
Mechanism has engaged youth to tell us the future they imagine for local production and manufacturing in Philadelphia. Ahead of the Gathering, we will collect their ideas and dreams for how local production can shape their neighborhoods, economies, and futures.
Over the course of the afternoon, teams work through a guided process of:
- Imagining new uses for overlooked or abandoned spaces
- Designing concepts for small-scale manufacturing, repair, creative production, and circular economy hubs
- Building visual mockups, business concepts, and operational models
By the end of the Design Jam, participants will produce actionable concepts that can move toward pilot projects, investment, or long-term development. Mechanism will share these concepts out to Gathering attendees, but also directly with the City of Philadelphia and other key stakeholders for future implementation.
South Kensington Walking Tour
Attendees are invited to join us as we explore South Kensington, Philadelphia on foot to examine what it takes to create a supportive ecosystem for small-scale makers. The tour will showcase built-space metaphors for topics like:
- Small landlords who believe in making/manufacturing uses
- Affordable rents, insulation from cost pressures
- Addressing loopholes in land use policies
We’ll make stops at the following locations, each with its own thematic focus to encourage lively discussion among participants.
Stop 1: South Kensington Community Partners Office
Stop 2: Veyko Design
Stop 3: ReAnimator Coffee Roasters
Stop 4: Crane Arts
Stop 5: Lost Bread
Local Host Committee
Anna Solomon Consulting
Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce
Thank you to our sponsors
