Blockchain-based smart contracts as new governance tools for the sharing economy

Abstract

Examples of sharing economy platforms are proliferating, generating new concerns on the exploitation of local resources, ethical and intellectual properties. Necessary changes are required to the regulatory frameworks of our cities. This paper proposes an application of blockchain technology for planning governance purposes. This new cutting-edge technology, currently under-exploited in applications for smart cities planning, may represent a fundamental building block for the digitalization of the sector. We propose blockchain-based management systems (BMSs) as new governance tools to improve traceability, transparency, and decentralization of transactions in the sharing economy. We build a BMS prototype for the management of co-working spaces (CWSs). In particular, we show how a blockchain can be used to track transactions between users (e.g., rent payments), and to advertise or store information about a given space (e.g., building specifications, IP conceived within the space). A large amount of data will be permanently and securely stored on ledger and made available to both institutions and corporations, providing a wide range of new governance tools and services to local authorities of the future. Similar BMSs can be developed for different types of buildings or public services purposes.