By 2030, cities in China will house 1 billion people. To meet rocketing demand, the government plans to build 36 million affordable new homes. Spending on home improvement has increased, but people aren’t embracing DIY – they’re paying others to do it for them.

Whether austerity, environmental concerns or the need for tangible achievement, consumers wanting a more hands-on approach to consumption can now turn to the Fixperts – designers keen to help the public understand how to fix everyday grievances.

A cosy mishmash of vintage furniture, crafts and homeware alongside parties, festivals and workshops, London's Drink, Shop & Do presents a compelling retail concept to revive declining high streets.

Reversing the decline of home economics, women under 30 are taking a break from technology to get crafting. And it's a trend that Brit + Co cater to with a three step approach: content, community and commerce – in that order.

New technology is making downloadable design a reality, and companies like AtFAB are leading the charge. But as consumers become producers, what are the implications for traditional making and selling?

MIT professor David Mellis wants to bring a DIY ethic to the world of cell phones. Mellis has created the world's first DIY cellphone, and put his open-source designs online for all to use. The phone costs $200 to build, and can be made out of wood or even cardboard.

With a strong focus on community collaboration, Motorola’s Project Ara is open to third-party developers – so everyone has a say in what their phone does, how it looks and how much it costs. But will a Lego-like smartphone appeal to everyone?

In response to increasingly fluid definitions of home, people are projecting their identities onto their living spaces by curating, remixing and personally improving their surroundings.