Sharing City Seoul: Solving social and urban issues through sharing

Abstract

Sharing City Seoul, a plan to revive the sharing culture on a city level to solve the social and economic problems, was proclaimed by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in September 2012. Confronted with a variety of social and urban issues around economic slowdown, welfare decrease, environmental pollution, social isolation and diminishing community spirit, the city leaders of Seoul introduced the plan to reduce pressures in these areas without putting additional resources in, by establishing a sharing ecosystem and embracing it as an integral part of Seoul’s economy. Seoul’s case is unique as the sharing policies were led by the city government as a city policy rather than the private sector, based on a creative, public-private partnership model. The city has taken initiatives to lead by example by building the foundation for the sharing city project to take root and spreading policies through collaboration with citizens and district level governments as partners.

This paper is a derivative of Seoul Draws a City through Sharing under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. By elaborating on the city’s strategies that have enabled Sharing City Seoul to make progress, including improving laws and institutions, supporting sharing enterprises, and facilitating citizen participation, this paper explores visions and insights for a more sharing and sustainable urban future.

Keywords

Sharing City / Seoul / Policy / Guideline / Public-Private Partnership

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2017 Higher Education Press