The Future of Black Rock City

A series from the BRC Operations team about what our desert city can become and how we are preparing for the future.

 

  • Ride a Bike or an E-bike in BRC? Read This.

     By Charlie Dolman
    TL;DR:  The speed limit in BRC is 5 mph. For everyone! Class 1 and 2 e-bikes are permitted in Black Rock City. Class 3 e-bikes are not allowed in BRC. If you are found speeding or riding an e-bike in an unsafe manner, or you leave the scene of an accident you were involved in, …Read More

  • ReCentering the Heart of Black Rock City

     By Burning Man Project
    The beating heart of Black Rock City is about to get pumpin’! This year marks a monumental moment of evolution — we are reimagining and revitalizing the center of the city. Center Camp Plaza will reincarnate into a street fair of delight and curiosity, a celebratory nexus for the Burning Man global cultural movement like …Read More

  • Adapting to Growth and Limits in Black Rock City

     By Bryant Tan
    Placement’s 2024 Statement of Intent (SOI) closed in January with nearly 1,300 submissions from theme camps that wish to be placed in Black Rock City (BRC) this year. That’s 100 more than in 2023, including 152 new theme camps. This shows that our community is alive and strong and we’re going to have another great …Read More

  • Taking a Stand on Convenience Camping – Preserving Our Culture Against Commodification

     By Bryant Tan
    As Black Rock City 2023 approaches, we’d like to take a moment to focus on a topic that’s critically important to the preservation of our shared principles of Radical Self-reliance and Decommodification. Please remember — convenience camping (formerly described as turnkey or plug-and-play camping) is not permitted in BRC, and runs totally counter to the …Read More

  • Let’s Make Exodus Not Suck

     By Shimmer
    What is Exodus anyway? Exodus: An ominous word that conjures ancient stories of humans suffering a plodding, treacherous journey through the desert. As it relates to the process of getting nearly 80,000 humans out of Black Rock City in a steady flow of 33,000+ vehicles after the event, that is still pretty much true, though …Read More

  • Will Burning Man Ban e-Bikes? Up to YOU.

     By Charlie Dolman
    This post has been updated as of July 23, 2023. Author’s comment: Thank you all for the recent feedback from readers. I apologize for creating a panic. The post has been updated to reflect current guidelines on e-bikes, which are the same as in previous years — but with an emphasis on the 5 mph …Read More

  • Let’s Create Delightful Mayhem in Center Camp — the Playa’s Living Room

     By Burning Man Project
    Do you gift snow cones? Host show tune singalongs? Love to tango? Lead random parades to nowhere? Whatever you love to create, YOU are invited to bring it to Center Camp — an acre of beautifully designed, communal shaded space in the beating heart of Black Rock City.  Center Camp is holding space for spontaneous …Read More

  • Watch “Going Solar” – Experiential Learning for a Sustainable Future

     By Burning Man Project
    Burners are tinkerers. More than that, many of us are makers and technologists who venture out into the Black Rock Desert to learn, innovate and prototype. It comes as no surprise that there is a ton of solar expertise in the Burning Man community – so much that Burners are ahead of the curve, exploring …Read More

  • Webcasting and Remote Participation in BRC

     By Motorbike Matt
    The re-opening of Black Rock City after several years away from the dust is just days away. If you’re like me, you’re quietly (or not so quietly) freaking out about how you’re going to make it Home this year. Among the 80,000 lucky souls who are able to join us in person, your main concerns …Read More

  • Center Camp: Reimagined

     By Laura Day
    Laura Day, Associate Director of Operations at your service, here to spill the beans around our plans to reimagine Center Camp — sans coffee.  As we wake from the dream between years without Black Rock City and prepare to return Home in 2022, we are coming to the realization that we are no longer the …Read More

  • Sustainability Initiatives on the Road to Black Rock City 2022

     By Burning Man Project
    Nick Farr’s first time in Black Rock City kicked off a series of important lessons. “I found out what a darkwad was when the batteries on my headlamp faded out and died in deep playa. That’s when I started bringing out the biggest possible pack of batteries you could buy on every future trip out …Read More

  • Introducing a More Dynamic and Transparent Placement Process for 2022

     By Bryant Tan
    In a typical year, many theme camps go quiet and hibernate in November. But this is no typical year as we slowly thaw from a two-year freeze brought on by the global pandemic. This post about Black Rock City’s 2022 Placement Process is coming earlier in the event-planning cycle because it’s going to take more …Read More

  • The Future of Black Rock City: All Comm, All Comm… Come Back for BRC Operations

     By Charlie Dolman
    A series from the BRC Operations team about what our desert city can become and how we are preparing for the future. Read all the posts here.   The event is canceled. So… what’s the BRC Operations team doing? The answer: Thinking about the future To more fully answer this question, we are launching this …Read More