This course explores the emerging notion of the 'sharing economy' and its potential contribution to urban sustainability, with a particular focus on the role of law and regulation. The sharing economy has been defined both narrowly, in terms of the ways in which information technology is used to empower individuals or organisations to distribute, share and re-use excess capacity in goods and services; and more broadly, with an emphasis on shared governance, cooperative work, shared information, crowd sourcing, crowd funding, collective activity, community-building, the commons and cooperative ownership. Whether broad or narrow, the focus is on the ways in which ordinary people are experimenting with different ways of moving around, powering themselves, securing food and making a living, making these transactions less wasteful and potentially more social.

Main Topics

More information can be found on the Course Outline Website.