Collaboration in Cities: From Sharing to ‘Sharing Economy’

The report examines the transition from traditional sharing to the technology-enabled 'sharing economy' in cities. It defines various models—including the collaborative, gig, and on-demand economies—and identifies key actors ranging from individual users to public sector entities. The document outlines how cities can act as regulators, facilitators, integrators, or collaborators to optimize municipal assets and services. It also addresses critical challenges such as trust verification, safety, racial discrimination, and the need for updated taxation and labor laws to balance innovation with citizen protection.

• The sharing economy is characterized by three primary features: the use of digital technologies to match buyers and sellers, the capitalization of 'idle capacity' of assets, and the use of trust-verification mechanisms like peer reviews and liability insurance.
• Sharing motivations vary by demographic: young, low-income groups are primarily driven by economic factors, while young, higher-income and higher-educated groups are more socially motivated, and women are more environmentally motivated than men.
• City governments can adopt four distinct roles in the sharing economy: Regulators (ensuring rules do not hinder business), Facilitators/Enablers (promoting sharing services), Integrators/Implementers (directly implementing initiatives), and Collaborators (partnering with platforms for economic or social impact).
• Municipalities can leverage sharing for public assets, such as using 'libraries of things' for equipment, reclaiming vacant public land for community gardens (as seen with 596 Acres in New York), or implementing time-banking for civic services (as seen in Barcelona).
• Market-driven sharing platforms face significant trust and safety challenges, which are often addressed through two-way rating systems, background checks, and third-party certifications like the Trust Seal in the UK and the Sharing Economy Trust Mark in Japan.
• The sharing economy can exacerbate social inequalities, including racial discrimination on platforms like Uber and Airbnb, and widening wage gaps where highly educated workers perform lower-skilled tasks to supplement income.
• Regulatory challenges for cities include the need to modernize outdated taxation laws and ensure fair competition between traditional market players and new sharing platforms.
• Some cities are implementing specific financial regulations to manage sharing, such as Sao Paulo charging Transportation Network Companies a fee of approximately $0.03 per vehicle/kilometre to fund public infrastructure.

APA

World Economic Forum (2017). Collaboration in Cities: From Sharing to ‘Sharing Economy’. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/White_Paper_Collaboration_in_Cities_report_2017.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Collaboration in Cities: From Sharing to ‘Sharing Economy’. 2017. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/White_Paper_Collaboration_in_Cities_report_2017.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Collaboration in Cities: From Sharing to ‘Sharing Economy’ |date=December 2017 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/White_Paper_Collaboration_in_Cities_report_2017.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2017collaboration, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Collaboration in Cities: From Sharing to ‘Sharing Economy’}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2017}, month = dec, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/White_Paper_Collaboration_in_Cities_report_2017.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }