Cities have always been the main character in the sharing economy and in sustainable development. They offer an ideal setting for expanding through different sharing programs. In this sharing economy, underused products are shared to make assets and optimize the use of resources by enabling people to lend, share, transfer, rent, and sell resources. Let’s find out in detail the role of cities in the sharing economy.
What is Sharing Economy?
The sharing economy, also called collaborative consumption or peer-to-peer, is an economic model where services and goods are provided, acquired, or shared through an online platform that connects sellers and buyers.
It gives the citizen the chance to rent or borrow items from someone who does not use them rather than buying or owning them. In this way, owners can convert assets into a sort of commodity treat.
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How Do Cities Help the Economy?
Cities are full of cultural, social, economic, political, and technological changes and developments. They are considered the center of innovation, knowledge, and specialization of services and products. Cities are a sea of innovation and creative thinking.
A large number of citizens create more opportunities for communication and interaction that generates more knowledge promotes new ideas, develops creative thinking, and innovative use of modern technologies. Cities provide more opportunities for learning and sharing. They offer an array of services and state-of-the-art production centers.
They also provide customers with more choices of services and goods. They offer both higher and lower skilled job opportunities to help the economy. Cities with weaker economies offer higher rates of low skilled jobs that also reduce the rate of unemployment among the citizens. They need to offer cheap land and a large number of workers to promote businesses such as exporting.
Cities need to improve their transportation system which can attract more low skilled workers; the labor market can promote a stronger economy in the cities. The best way to improve the economy is by upskilling and training the citizens, so they can assess the opportunity of entering the labor market. This should not be limited to one generation only; rather everyone should be benefitted from it.
How Can Cities Share the Economy?
Some cities straight away give the opportunity of sharing practices and some cities take help from non-government organizations such as the local communities, private sector, social enterprises, and non-profit entities, pave the best path accordingly to developing a sharing economy city.
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What Are the Examples of the Sharing Economy in Cities?
Some examples of sharing economy in cities are:
- Co-working
- Ride-sharing
- Grocery delivery services
- Short-term rentals
- Peer-to-peer learning
- Energy
Out of these important roles of cities in the sharing economy and collaborative consumption, providing employment, upskilling, educating and training plays the priority role as that is the only road leading to a better and stronger economy for the cities.
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