Author: Urban Sharing - From excess economy to access economy
Date: 2017
Why did we select this snapshot?
Urban sharing in London spans across a wide array of sectors, from mobility to tool and accommodation sharing. There is a variety of for-profit and non-profit sharing organisations operating in London, and the city supports or hinders them based on their merits.
Key findings
London published a Smart London Plan in 2013 as a response to its population growth, which is expected to exacerbate congestion and the resulting air pollution. The plan stresses the importance of collaboration between citizens, businesses, researchers, investors and other stakeholders. There is a strong focus on fostering the development of a strong, stable and sustainable economy and support is offered to London-based start-up companies, including sharing start-ups. London also has a strategy for air quality, water waste and climate change.
Over thirty sharing organisations from various sectors operating in London are members of the trade association “Sharing Economy UK,” established in 2015. The association lobbies on behalf of its members and requests its members to sign a Code of Conduct which asks them to act fairly and sustainably. Sharing Economy UK is a unique association acting on behalf of non-profit and for-profit sharing organisations and has no equivalent elsewhere in the world that we know of.
