Mapping the economics, social and technological attributes of the sharing economy

Purpose The sharing economy is a socio-economic system in which individuals acquire and distribute goods and services among each other for free or for compensation through internet platforms. The sharing economy has attracted the interest of the academic community, which examined the phenomenon from the economic, social and technological perspectives. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach Given the lack of an overarching analysis of the sharing economy, this paper employs a quantitative content analysis approach to explore and synthesise relevant findings to facilitate the understanding of this emerging phenomenon. Findings The paper identified and grouped findings under four themes, namely: collaborative consumption practices, resources, drivers of user engagement and impacts, each of which is discussed in relation to the three main themes, aiming to compare findings and then put forward an agenda for further research. Originality/value The paper offers a balanced analysis of the building blocks of the sharing economy, to identify emerging themes within each stream, to discuss any contextual differences from a multi-stakeholder perspective and to propose directions for future studies

Sustainable Mobility for Island Destinations

This open access book presents the findings of the CIVITAS DESTINATIONS project regarding the link between mobility and tourism in urban areas and the complications tourist destinations face in becoming more sustainable. It integrates the tourist mobility needs and the associated fluctuation impacts in the design of mobility solutions in order to enforce the accessibility, attractiveness, efficiency and sustainability of transport services and infrastructure for both residents and tourists in island cities such as Rethymno, Crete, and Valetta, Malta. Sustainable Mobility for Island Destinations contains contributions from highly experienced academics, engineers, and planners in the area of sustainable tourism, mobility services, and smart solutions design companies assisting: the change of the mind set in insular and tourism areas; the adoption of green mobility systems and services; and monitoring the environmental benefits to assist towards the Climate Change. It explores the challenges tourist islands face, such as the seasonal fluxes in transport usage, the pressures of tourism to provide aesthetic green spaces, and the space issues of being an island in relation to economic potential and infrastructure construction. The book suggests areas for future research, and implementation of innovative systems and policies. It will be of interest to academics, planners, decision makers, and environmentalists

Opportunities and Challenges of DLT (Blockchain) in Mobility and Logistics

This report presents the economic potential, legal framework, and technical foundations required to understand distributed ledger (DL) / blockchain technology and llustrates the opportunities and challenges they present, especially in the mobility and logistics sectors. It was compiled by the blockchain laboratory at Fraunhofer FIT on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI). Its intended audience comprises young companies seeking, for example, a legal assessment of data protection issues related to DL and blockchain technologies, decisionmakers in the private sector wishing concrete examples to help them understand how this technology can impact existing and emerging markets and which measures might be sensible from a business perspective, public policymakers and politicians wishing to familiarize themselves with this topic in order to take a position, particularly in the mobility and logistics sectors, and members of the general public interested in the technology and its potential. The report does not specifically address those with a purely academic or scientific interest in these topics, although parts of it definitely reflect the current state of academic discussion

Connected And Autonomous Vehicles: Implications For Policy And Practice In City And Transportation Planning

Vehicular transportation is undergoing a technological change. Cars are being automated, which have significant implications for governments. Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) and Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) can have significant benefits such as improved overall roadside safety and efficiency however, there may also be negative effects as well such as increased sprawl and social inequity. In Ontario, AV testing on public roads has been conducted under O. Reg. 306/15, which has also helped to establish Ontario as a leader of innovation in Canada. Before CAVs can be mass deployed in Ontario and Canada at large however, a number of barriers will need to be addressed such as legislation, infrastructure and cooperation between municipalities, and between municipalities and the automotive industry. Recommendations for municipal and provincial governments are provided

Sustainable Mobility for Island Destinations

This open access book presents the findings of the CIVITAS DESTINATIONS project regarding the link between mobility and tourism in urban areas and the complications tourist destinations face in becoming more sustainable. It integrates the tourist mobility needs and the associated fluctuation impacts in the design of mobility solutions in order to enforce the accessibility, attractiveness, efficiency and sustainability of transport services and infrastructure for both residents and tourists in island cities such as Rethymno, Crete, and Valetta, Malta. Sustainable Mobility for Island Destinations contains contributions from highly experienced academics, engineers, and planners in the area of sustainable tourism, mobility services, and smart solutions design companies assisting: the change of the mind set in insular and tourism areas; the adoption of green mobility systems and services; and monitoring the environmental benefits to assist towards the Climate Change. It explores the challenges tourist islands face, such as the seasonal fluxes in transport usage, the pressures of tourism to provide aesthetic green spaces, and the space issues of being an island in relation to economic potential and infrastructure construction. The book suggests areas for future research, and implementation of innovative systems and policies. It will be of interest to academics, planners, decision makers, and environmentalists

Embracing Disruption: Urban Streets and Infrastructure of the 21st Century

Mass production of affordable automobiles in the early 20th century have completely reshaped American landscape. Since then, every part of American cities and neighborhoods have been designed to move cars rather than people. On the brink of a broad adoption of autonomous vehicle (AV) technology, cities have an historic opportunity to reorient urban spaces and redesign its streets. Concurrent with the evolving public health challenges and shifting in urban demographics and consumer habits, how are these changes of the 21st century impact the design of urban streets and public realm of the future? This thesis aims to explore and propose an urban incubator dedicated to the advancements of all mobility and reimagine how urban living of the future look like as people reclaim the urban streets

Toward a Bio-Inspired System Architecting Framework: Simulation of the Integration of Autonomous Bus Fleets & Alternative Fuel Infrastructures in Closed Sociotechnical Environments

Cities are set to become highly interconnected and coordinated environments composed of emerging technologies meant to alleviate or resolve some of the daunting issues of the 21st century such as rapid urbanization, resource scarcity, and excessive population demand in urban centers. These cybernetically-enabled built environments are expected to solve these complex problems through the use of technologies that incorporate sensors and other data collection means to fuse and understand large sums of data/information generated from other technologies and its human population. Many of these technologies will be pivotal assets in supporting and managing capabilities in various city sectors ranging from energy to healthcare. However, among these sectors, a significant amount of attention within the recent decade has been in the transportation sector due to the flood of new technological growth and cultivation, which is currently seeing extensive research, development, and even implementation of emerging technologies such as autonomous vehicles (AVs), the Internet of Things (IoT), alternative xxxvi fueling sources, clean propulsion technologies, cloud/edge computing, and many other technologies. Within the current body of knowledge, it is fairly well known how many of these emerging technologies will perform in isolation as stand-alone entities, but little is known about their performance when integrated into a transportation system with other emerging technologies and humans within the system organization. This merging of new age technologies and humans can make analyzing next generation transportation systems extremely complex to understand. Additionally, with new and alternative forms of technologies expected to come in the near-future, one can say that the quantity of technologies, especially in the smart city context, will consist of a continuously expanding array of technologies whose capabilities will increase with technological advancements, which can change the performance of a given system architecture. Therefore, the objective of this research is to understand the system architecture implications of integrating different alternative fueling infrastructures with autonomous bus (AB) fleets in the transportation system within a closed sociotechnical environment. By being able to understand the system architecture implications of alternative fueling infrastructures and AB fleets, this could provide performance-based input into a more sophisticated approach or framework which is proposed as a future work of this research