Sharing Cities
The Book
* Book: Sharing Cities. A Case for Truly Smart and Sustainable Cities. By Duncan McLaren and Julian Agyeman. MIT Press eBooks, 2015
URL = https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/sharing-cities
"The future of humanity is urban, and the nature of urban space enables, and necessitates, sharing—of resources, goods and services, experiences. Yet traditional forms of sharing have been undermined in modern cities by social fragmentation and commercialization of the public realm. In Sharing Cities, Duncan McLaren and Julian Agyeman argue that the intersection of cities’ highly networked physical space with new digital technologies and new mediated forms of sharing offers cities the opportunity to connect smart technology to justice, solidarity, and sustainability. McLaren and Agyeman explore the opportunities and risks for sustainability, solidarity, and justice in the changing nature of sharing.
McLaren and Agyeman propose a new “sharing paradigm,” which goes beyond the faddish “sharing economy”—seen in such ventures as Uber and TaskRabbit—to envision models of sharing that are not always commercial but also communal, encouraging trust and collaboration. Detailed case studies of San Francisco, Seoul, Copenhagen, Medellín, Amsterdam, and Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) contextualize the authors’ discussions of collaborative consumption and production; the shared public realm, both physical and virtual; the design of sharing to enhance equity and justice; and the prospects for scaling up the sharing paradigm though city governance. They show how sharing could shift values and norms, enable civic engagement and political activism, and rebuild a shared urban commons. Their case for sharing and solidarity offers a powerful alternative for urban futures to conventional “race-to-the-bottom” narratives of competition, enclosure, and division." (https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/sharing-cities)
About the Authors
Duncan McLaren, former Chief Executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland, is Director of McLaren Environmental Research and Consultancy.
Julian Agyeman is Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University. He is the coeditor of Just Sustainabilities: Development in an Unequal World (MIT Press) and other books.
The Concept
Actors
Sharing Cities Eu Consortium
Neal Gorenflo:
"In Europe, the London-based SharingCities.eu consortium is working with London, Milan, Lisbon, Warsaw, Burgas, Bordeaux, and other sharing cities projects, though with a strong techno-commercial bent. Netherlands-based ShareNL has long worked with Amsterdam (the first European sharing city) and is now reaching out to many more cities in Europe and beyond through their newly-formed Sharing City Alliance. Last year, the Paris-based nongovernmental organization OuiShare co-hosted Sharing Lille, a multifaceted festival attended by over 1,000 people meant to foster more sharing in Lille, France. The 2017 theme of the organization’s flagship Paris event – OuiShare Fest – is cities. In addition, its far-flung members are working with numerous cities on sharing projects through its network in Europe and South America." (https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Activating_the_Urban_Commons_Through_Sharing_Cities)
Sharing Economy Association of Japan
Neal Gorenflo:
"In Asia, the Sharing Economy Association of Japan (SEAJ) is currently developing sharing cities programs with 26 rural municipalities in Japan. Last year, five Japanese cities – Chiba, Yuzawa, Taku, Hamamatsu, and Shimabara – unveiled plans, developed with SEAJ, to foster more sharing. And, of course, the movement has taken off in South Korea. On Nov. 6, 2016, at Seoul Sharing Festival, which I attended as a member of Mayor Park’s Sharing Economy International Advisory Group, seven Korean cities – Seoul, Jeonju, Suwon, Seongnam, Siheung, Gwangju, and Don-gu – signed a joint declaration announcing their plans to develop their sharing cities programs together." (https://wiki.p2pfoundation.net/Activating_the_Urban_Commons_Through_Sharing_Cities)