The city role in the sharing economy: Toward an integrated framework of practices and governance models

Abstract

The sharing economy finds a fertile breeding ground in cities for extremely different initiatives. This paper moves from the emerging literature on sharing cities, draws on the sharing city paradigm and urban policy literature, and analyzes the roles municipalities exert in supporting and regulating urban sharing initiatives. To address this topic, we developed a mixed-method analysis to map 134 practices and policies deployed in 75 worldwide cities and tested the impact of municipalities governance roles on the sharing city paradigm. Building on our results, we propose an integrated framework for urban governance, that underlines the relevance of the active participation of municipalities in implementing and executing successful sharing initiatives in cities, thus also promoting urban sustainability. Accordingly, findings are relevant for academics studying the sharing economy impacts on cities and for urban policy makers who have the sharing economy on their agenda.