There is a link between Sharing economy and sustainability, in particular because the mediator between demand and request is disappearing, there are many examples in particular in the tourism sector.
Reading about Sharing Economy in many ways has reminded me about a couple of Italian examples one is a different way to see and to organise the tourism, the second is more a choice of lifestyle.
I will start telling you a special model of accommodation well known in Italy: the Albergo Diffuso.
“Albergo Diffuso”: residential areas in the old town centres are salvaged and organized as hotel facilities.
Actually during my studies I have discovered it is much more, it is a model of sustainable development for small towns in danger to disappear because of the lack of jobs and work opportunities and no proper assistance from the government (inexistent public transport for instance) . This situation could produce depopulation of many disadvantaged areas, even if they are beautiful and helthy places where to live.
The name Albergo Diffuso was born in 1982 in Carnia where a town was destroyed by a earthquake, the renovation of the houses allowed people not to abandon their home. The local community started a new kind of tourism offering to the guests the opportunity to stay in widespread accommodation. In summary , the local community decided to share their habits and daily life with strangers.
This model of accommodation has been the subject of my master degree thesis and hopefully it will be the subject of project to develop on Lake Como area, in Italy.
More info about Albergo Diffuso Lake Como project
The second example is a cohousing project that is work in progress in Como by L’Isola che c’è a no profit association who is operating since 2005 in Como area
Cohousing Camnago Volta is the first project of cohousing proposed in Como, it will also be a restoration project, this will make it a sustainable project . The building that will be restored is a property in Camnago Volta, a village located 2 kilometers from the city center.
The proposed building for the project is an historical building, it will be restored maintaining as much as possible of the existing structure and focusing on improving the quality of energy, with 110 square meters of courtyard, a wooded property on the back and the most important 155 square meters of common areas to be used according to the wishes and needs of future cohousers.
The preliminary draft expects 9 units, as flexible as possible will allow you to decide the size of the single unit on the basis of families who join and within the constraints dictated from the existing structure.
The destination of the common areas and the final cut of the apartments will be the result of the involvement of the participants.
The restructuring is expected to last approximately one year after the signing of preliminary contracts, the indicative delivery of housing units is in the spring-summer 2016.
See more in Italian at: http://www.lisolachece.org/pagina/cohousing-Camnago-volta#sthash.vElva8DE.dpuf
