We've been blown away by the response to our newest book "Sharing Cities: Activating the Urban Commons." Produced by Shareable's staff and a team of 15 fellows, the book serves as a practical reference guide for individuals and city governments on how to launch small-scale and large-scale programs that facilitate sharing of resources. Just a little over a month after the official release, we've already gotten 2,500 downloads of the free PDF, distributed nearly 300 print copies, facilitated book discussions and other events in three continents, and supported translation efforts of various chapters of the book in French and Japanese. It's gratifying to see the level of enthusiasm around the ideas brought forth in the book.
To maintain this momentum, we launched a global book tour spearheaded by readers like you. What kinds of sharing projects would you like to see in your neighborhood? A community garden? An energy cooperative? A cohousing center? Use our book to get the conversation going with your community members!
From Miami, Florida, to Oakland, California, we've already supported 10 discussions so far. In North America, we’re currently planning events in Asheville, North Carolina; Ann Arbor and Chicago, Michigan; Portland, Oregon; and many other cities. Meanwhile, book fellows Adrien Labaeye and Darren Sharp hosted two events in Berlin, Germany, and one in Canberra, Australia, respectively.
Many more events are in the works in:
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Heidelberg, Germany
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Madrid, Spain
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Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Adelaide and Sydney, Australia
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Casablanca, Morocco
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Lagos, Nigeria
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Tokyo, Japan
All events will be listed here once they are confirmed. Here are some ideas on how you can participate:
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Host a discussion of "Sharing Cities" at your next book club
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Host a Meetup to chat about the book in your living room, local coffee shop, or library
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Host a panel discussion at your university or community center
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Host a large community gathering (MapJam, Stone Soup, or World Cafe)
One of my favorite events so far was a potluck hosted by Adam Brock, author and co-founder of the Denver Permaculture Guild, at his home. Around 10 people joined us to discuss how the projects and policies featured in the book can be replicated in Denver, Colorado. Every new project has to begin somewhere and planning it over a shared meal gets things off to a great start.
If you're interested in hosting an event, and have questions or suggestions, please join one of these three calls with me to learn more:
Already have an event in mind? Register it right now, and we'll add it to the global map.
Shareable will provide materials for discussions, facilitate connections with local sharing experts, join your event (virtually, when we're unable to attend in-person), and provide other resources and support. We’ve set aside some funds raised during last year's crowdfunding campaign to provide a print version of the book to the first 20 people who sign up to host an event in the next three months. We'll even reimburse some of the costs for snacks and space rental for larger events.
Ready to host an event? Please fill out the form below, and we'll get in touch soon.
