Access-Based Consumption in the Built Environment: Sharing Spaces

Rebecka Lundgren, Riikka Kyrö and Tuuli Jylhä
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Rebecka Lundgren: Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, 22100 Lund, Sweden
Riikka Kyrö: Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, 22100 Lund, Sweden
Tuuli Jylhä: Department of Management in the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, 2600 GA Delft, The Netherlands

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-26

Abstract: The pressing need to implement a more circular economy has led to advancements in the research field. In the spatial context, sharing spaces and access-over-ownership models have the potential to mitigate the detrimental environmental impacts of space use. This study aims to adapt an existing theoretical framework on access-based consumption to the spatial context. We utilise a qualitative case study approach exploring a variety of shared spaces from Northern Europe. Our findings suggest that shared spaces and their organisation are inherently fluid. The study further reveals that the physical object of sharing, even in the case of shared spaces, is being partially replaced with virtual and hybrid solutions. In fact, a hybrid solution seems to enable organisations delivering shared spaces to be more dynamic. Finally, we find that in the spatial context, two types of political consumerism prevail: decommercialization of spaces on the one hand and promoting environmental sustainability on the other. This study is the first to suggest a holistic framework for access-based consumption in the spatial context. The findings will be useful to scholars and practitioners engaged in developing, owning and providing services for shared spaces.

Keywords: access-based consumption; circular economy; collaborative consumption; collaborative spaces; co-location; co-working; hybrid spaces; serviced spaces; shared spaces; sharing economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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