Sharing Towns the Key to the Sharing Economy Puzzle

Sharing Towns The Key to the Sharing Economy Puzzle April 2019 Sharing Cities Sweden is a national program for the sharing economy in cities. The program aims to put Sweden on the map as a country that actively and critically works with the sharing economy in cities. The objectives of the program are to develop world- leading test-beds for the sharing economy in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö and Umeå, and to develop a national node in order to significantly improve national and international cooperation and promote an exchange of experience on sharing cities. Title: The Key to the Sharing Economy Puzzle Authors: Kelly Delaney, Alexandra Jonca, Samuel Kalb Sharing Cities Sweden is carried out within Viable Cities, a Swedish Innovation Programme for smart sustainable cities, jointly funded by the Swedish Innovation Agency (VINNOVA), the Swedish Energy Agency and the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS). 2 Executive Summary The aim of this report is to address the problem of consumption in Karlstad by providing a tool, the Key to the Sharing Economy puzzle, to help multiple actors make sense of the Sharing Economy and use it to achieve Karlstad’s goals. This tool will organise conversations and discussions by providing a systematic way of approaching the Sharing Economy, and will help ask and answer important questions to make better decisions about sharing initiatives. It was designed specifically for the Karlstad context but will also prove useful for cities with similar sizes, opportunities and challenges. We provide two types of recommendations for Karlstad in this report. The first are capacity building recommendations that aim to create a supportive environment for sharing ideas to grow. The second are practical sharing examples that hold high promise to be successful in Karlstad. Before providing these recommendations, we explain our interpretation of the Sharing Economy to ensure common ground. What is the Sharing Economy? The Sharing Economy is a recent and still-evolving concept with no single agreed-upon definition. In this report, we define the Sharing Economy as organised interactions in which individuals or entities grant temporary access to underutilised spaces, goods, information, talent or experience. Exceptions to the rule of temporary access include food-sharing and personal hygiene products, as these are one-time use. We believe it is useful to think about the Sharing Economy in three distinct categories. These are Co- Ownership, Access Providers and Matchmakers. Co-Ownership Access Providers Matchmakers Description A group of people pools The owner of an asset Connects users with together to purchase, provides direct access. providers. The initiative maintain and share an does not own any asset. This access can be for assets. free or for a price. Examples Cooperative mobility, Wikipedia, Car-sharing Airbnb, Uber, Facebook such as a car or bike- (such as Sunfleet) or groups, Peerby (mobile pool; Cooperative the municipality app), Streetbank housing. offering its own (website). vehicles to employees or citizens, tool libraries, Fritidsbanken. Table 1. The categories of sharing initiatives Impacts of the Sharing Economy The Sharing Economy cannot be categorised as fundamentally positive or negative. As with most phenomena that are large and complex, impacts appear across the scale. It is crucial, then, that municipalities and decision makers are aware of the diversity of impacts so that they can navigate them confidently. The table below includes examples of some positive and negative impacts that can occur: Impact Examples Positive Faster and more efficient access to goods and services More efficient use of underutilised resources Increased trust, social cohesion, and local resiliency Entrepreneur-friendly, encourages innovation Reconsiders value beyond financial means Provide incentives or grants to initiatives with positive impacts Negative Can lead to an increase in consumption Users might be prone to rebound effects Does not necessarily address social and economic equity concerns Can lead to monopolisation of markets Table 2. Impacts of the Sharing Economy The most promising way of emphasizing the positive and mitigating the negative impacts is to understand if, where, and how these impacts occur. Depending on the results of this assessment, a municipality can then engage in five different roles. Note that the role a city engages in can change depending on the size and maturity of sharing initiatives, and municipalities might engage in more than one role at the same time. Role Key Activities Why Regulator Assess, revise, and initiate new Ensure laws do not prohibit sharing policies and regulations as needed to initiatives unfairly, particularly those with support and moderate the Sharing social missions, while making sure there Economy accordingly. are sufficient checks and balances for economic focused initiatives. Provide incentives or grants to initiatives with positive impacts. Ex. Make sure food waste laws do not prohibit food sharing. Facilitator Enable citizens to collaborate Provide a supportive environment to through facilitating workshops and encourage entrepreneurship and events; connect citizens with sharing investment; citizen and community initiatives. involvement; and increase awareness about sharing practices. 4 Role Key Activities Why Promote and advocate inclusive, sustainable sharing platforms. Help scale local sharing initiatives at the city level. Hold innovation programs, hackathons, etc. Implementer Create platforms or implement This can fill gaps where the private sector initiatives to allow the municipality has not stepped up, or can help support itself to engage in sharing both the start of socially driven platforms. This internally between departments and can be especially effective in smaller cities externally, as a provider (including where the municipality has high visibility. civic spaces, material goods and skills); these can address a civic challenge or optimize resources, including procurement practices. Implement public sharing initiatives. Collaborator Partner with stakeholders (citizens, Administrative, financial or advisory public agencies, the private sector, support can be crucial to the success of academics, etc.) to develop and many initiatives. support sharing platforms that bring positive impacts to the community. Experimenter Attempt innovative solutions and Rather than waiting for markets to partnerships where the exact results emerge or partners to approach the may be unknown. municipality first, cities can use new methods to engage with citizens and the Sharing Economy. Table 3. Five roles for municipalities in the Sharing Economy 5 The Key to the Sharing Economy The Key consists of seven questions that will help municipalities organise their thinking and strategy around the Sharing Economy. The main points are illustrated in figure 1 and outlined in further detail below. Figure 1. The Key to unlocking the Sharing Economy Puzzle Step # Question Explanation & Motivation 1 Is it a sharing initiative? Broad classification: • Is the activity granting temporary access to spaces, goods, information, talent or experience? Sustainability shortcut: • Is temporary access to the good being granted? • Is the good rivalrous and tangible? • Is the motivation for ownership not for profit [8]? 2 Can the initiative achieve positive environmental, social and economic impacts? Environmental Impact Social Impact Economic Impact Does it reduce Does it enable people to Does it create jobs? consumption? take on hobbies? Does it teach people skills Does it decrease Does it help disadvantaged they can use in their production? groups? careers? Does it reduce GHG Does it facilitate social Does it help individuals be emissions? cohesion? more productive? Does it reduce pollution? Does it increase life quality Does it foster Does it reduce congestion? of the citizens? Health? entrepreneurship? 3 Are there negative environmental, social and economic externalities that could occur? What can be done to overcome/mitigate these impacts? 6 Step # Question Explanation & Motivation Environmental Impact Social Impact Economic Impact Does it encourage Could biases or Does it compete with consumption? discrimination occur? existing industry/jobs? Does it increase Could it be a public Does it cut into tax revenue production? nuisance? by reducing transactions in Does it increase GHG Is it missing quality or the local market? emissions? safety checks? Does it cause more work? Does it increase pollution? Could it create dangerous Does it require too much Does it increase circumstances? cost and maintenance by congestion? the municipality? 4 What indicators can be used What indicators do you already have and which to evaluate this initiative? indicators could you create? 5 Does the initiative contribute Think about this from a systemic perspective and how to Karlstad’s goals? the initiative connects to other strategic goals. 6 What role can the This could be a regulator, enabler, integrator, municipality take? collaborator and/or experimenter. Note here which stakeholders need to be integrated into this project. 7 Are there any applicable local, Consider rules which hinder as well as support the national or EU rules and initiative. Who do you need to contact to find out more? regulations? Is the existing regulation sufficient? Table 4. The Key to the Sharing Economy 7 Capacity-Building Recommendations While the nation-wide Sharing Cities

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