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Four Swedish cities to become sharing economy test pilots

Image: Lund University
Image: Lund University

Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö and Umeå are to become test cities in a new national sharing economy programme. “The cities of the future are facing major challenges. Sweden shall be a leader when it comes to developing the solutions that a sharing economy entails”, says Kes McCormick at Lund University. The programme – Sharing Cities Sweden – will be launched on 23 April.

Cars, clothing, toys or physical space. These are some of the things that can be shared in urban environments.

“We need to shift from an economy based on ownership to an economy in which sharing gives us access to the things we need”, says Kes McCormick, programme coordinator for Sharing Cities Sweden.

“Through trials in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö and Umeå, sharing services will be developed using digital platforms, while testing and evaluating opportunities and risks”, says Kes McCormick.

Focus on space, goods and services

The sharing services in the trials will focus on 1) shared utilisation of spaces (premises, housing, green areas, etc.) and 2) shared utilisation of goods and services (tools, clothing, toys, handicrafts, etc.). For example, the Sege Park area in Malmö will be developed to facilitate sharing of cars and bikes.

The aim of the programme is to reinforce Sweden’s role as a leading participant in the work to achieve global sustainability goals. The idea is also to develop new services and companies that serve both the domestic and international market.

“Most cities in the world are facing huge population increases and must find completely new ways of working with space, goods and services, travel and mobility”, says Kes McCormick.

Puts Sweden on the map

The launch event for Sharing Cities Sweden on 23 April will take place in Lund at the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) during Lund University’s Sustainability Week. At the event, key people from the four test cities will meet with partners from the private and public sectors, as well as universities and institutes in collaboration with the funding bodies of the programme: Vinnova, Formas and the Swedish Energy Agency.

“The important thing for us now is to get together at an early stage and share our initial results, support one another and together formulate the continued steps of the programme. Our ambition is that Sharing Cities Sweden will put Sweden on the map as a country that actively works to promote an urban sharing economy.”

When?

Monday 23 April, 12:00–17:00

Where?

Main auditorium at the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE), Tegnérsplatsen 4, Lund

Event website

The Sharing Cities Sweden programme is designed as a component of Viable Cities, a Swedish strategic innovation programme for smart and sustainable cities. Viable Cities is one of 17 strategic innovation programmes financed by Vinnova, the Swedish Energy Agency and Formas.