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Our transnational project funded by Interreg Europe aims to stimulate new shared economy services for consumer goods in urban environments.
The goal is to increase resource-efficiency and access to consumer goods by implementing sharing economy systems, thus achieving a measurable reduction of consumption in cities and a smaller ecological footprint of European citizens.
Through coordinating efforts with local stakeholders and leveraging policy instruments, partners aim to significantly reduce the volume of goods and negative consumption-related ecological impacts while improving well-being and social cohesion.
The six public authorities within the Good Cities project will define their role in the sharing economy, establish effective governance mechanisms, learn from and develop good practices, and foster a culture of cooperation. The initiative will empower cities to develop comprehensive policies and tools that create trust and space for sharing.
By increasing the visibility of sharing and proactive leadership, GOOD CITIES will demonstrate an alternative, more sustainable and efficient approach to consuming goods, ultimately creating a prosperous and resource-conscious future for our cities within planetary boundaries boosting the implementation of EU and local environmental policies.
Millions of underused consumer goods, such as leisure equipment, tools or home appliances, are hidden in European households, contributing to financial waste, resource depletion, ecosystem destruction, climate change and a growing waste crisis while being rarely used (i.e. a drill is used on average for only 12 mins in its lifetime). Individual ownership patterns lead to many issues:
While (often extractive, so-called) sharing economy initiatives have been emerging in mobility and housing, goods receive low political priority, despite their significant impact. This is where GOOD CITIES makes a difference.
Eutropian will support project partners in GOOD CITIES in the following ways:
Municipality of Újbuda, Budapest
Újbuda has been known for its vibrant cultural life, green areas and community spirit in close proximity to the city centre; this is an ideal environment to promote sharing economy practices. It is also home to two major Hungarian universities and countless NGOs and SMEs, many of which are involved in architecture, design and urbanism.
Through GOOD CITIES, Újbuda aims to stimulate the existing ecosystem to take a proactive role in the sharing economy of goods and promote resource-efficient consumption lifestyles by local communities. While culture and social cohesion are currently two major pillars of the district’s strategy, Újbuda wants to use GOOD CITIES to enhance the sustainability aspect, through awareness raising and the identification of good practices.
City of Jyväskylä, Finland
Finland is the 9th biggest household waste producer in Europe; Jyväskylä aims to tackle this overconsumption challenge by introduction of “Shared Building: a local hub for the sharing economy of goods “, and other sharing collaborations in the city by exploring and improving Public-Private-People Partnerships (PPPP) in the sharing economy in the upcoming years.
A PPPP of a Shared Building (pilot action) which is financially sustainable and scalable will be designed, tested and implemented within GOOD CITIES with the aim to enable goods sharing in Jyväskylä.
Tilburg Municipality, Netherlands
Tilburg aims to measure the social and environmental impacts of the sharing economy and create pilots that have potential to be scalable based on the learnings of GOOD CITIES.
Although the Netherlands has the highest circular economy performance, consumption is still on average very high. Tilburg is interested in further examining how the sharing economy can reduce overconsumption by reducing purchasing of goods in the first place. Furthermore, the city wants to investigate the potential of the sharing economy to strengthen social cohesion in neighbourhoods, and fight poverty, an issue identified by Tilburg.
Tartu City Government, Estonia
The City of Tartu is planning an innovative Digital Kiosk pilot consisting of a connected locker infrastructure, facilitating the seamless sharing of goods within a designated district. This experimental initiative encompasses the placement of connected lockers in both indoor environments, such as building lobbies, and outdoor settings, like public parks. Leveraging a user-friendly mobile application, citizens will gain effortless access to the lockers, enabling them to benet from a diverse array of shared goods for short-term usage, typically spanning a few hours. The selection of shared goods, including leisure and sports equipment, home appliances, and tools, will be determined through an inclusive co-creation process, ensuring alignment with the community’s needs and preferences.
City of Malmö, Sweden
Following the experiences in the Sharing Cities Sweden Programme, Malmö aims to further explore and develop the city’s role in the sharing economy and in particular expand its strategies and ongoing initiatives towards consumer goods. In this project, Malmö aims to introduce a focus on sustainability through the sharing economy into an ongoing urban development project called Sege Park – one of the first sharing economy district projects in Europe – among other local areas, by designating areas for sharing (i.e. libraries, meeting space, sport venues).
Cluster of Bioeconomy and Environment of Western Macedonia
In Greece, waste generation is higher than the EU average and the country has a low circularity performance. The region of Western Macedonia is under a fast and vast transition from the lignite/coal era into a new productive model with a focus on clean energy. Building on this ambition, Kozani has been selected among the European Mission 100 cities to become climate neutral and smart by 2030. Within the GOOD CITIES project, the local partner CluBE together with the Region of Western Macedonia will include a new call for the sharing economy, involving small enterprises and industries as well as citizens ensuring the financing of new projects under this policy instrument.
Duration: Starting 04/2024 with expected ending 12/2026
Contact: Dr. Levente Polyak, Eutropian GmbH
E-mail: levente.polyak@eutropian.org
