Usership

Discussion

How usership differs from Ownership:

"Usership means that you have the exclusive right to use something without hindering anyone else from using it as well. One example of a usership is collective travel. Another one is public parks. In Sweden, we have a rule which is called "The Right to Roam" (Allemansrätten) which allows you to enjoy nature and camp almost everywhere you want on the countryside.

Under such a system, you still have responsibilities to not for example vandalise or junk down the service you are utilising.

Thus, we see that usership is actually not something new but something which exists under the current system as well, and which thrives (public travel is increasingly getting popular due to the more environmentally aware urban citizenry).

Not only society is using usership as a mode for operating travel and recreation, but smaller groups within society is doing that as well, like for example sport clubs, youth houses and public educational facilities.

Of course, there is a gray zone between usership and ownership. Sport clubs do not for example allow people who are not members of the group use their equipment. It is therefore sane to speak about a grade-scale characterised by exclusivity. We are not implying that exclusivity is inherently bad either, even though it could be used to discriminate against people (the discrimination is inherently unacceptable if based on factors which the person herself could not affect, like ethnic origin or gender)." (http://en.technocracynet.eu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=155&Itemid=137)

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A Multi-Unit Housing Usership Design

Experimenting with concepts revolving around usership, in a context of a housing cooperative :

http://p2pfoundation.net/A_Cooperative_Housing_Usership_Design

http://p2pfoundation.net/P2P_in_Multi-Unit_Housing

See Usership discussions Proposal for Usership models

http://sharewiki.org/en/Leipzig_Usership