From possession to use — An Interview with Dajian Zhu on sharing economy and sharing city

Abstract

With the increasing influence of sharing economy in China and throughout the world, its definition, objectives, and development methods have become one of the topics for the science of urban public management. This interview points out that the sharing economy has emerged under the background of the transition of consumer society from possession-orientation to use-orientation, and the revolution of consumption mode and lifestyle with an ultimate aim of improving the efficiency and well-being. As a result, in China’s urbanization process which is now shifting from incremental planning to inventory planning, the key for urban development lies in the promotion of the sharing economy and achieving maximum utility with minimum material possession.