n Cohousing communities and housing cooperatives


n Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs


DEGREES OF SHARING


FOUR by Janelle Orsi


Sharing to the First Degree: Requires Cooperation + Minimal Planning


At the most basic level, sharing arrange- ments require little planning, time or money. They can start or stop almost any- time: sometimes, quite spontaneously. Many of us already share at these levels. n Carpooling n Potlucks or meal exchanges with neighbors or coworkers


n Borrowing and lending goods n Babysitting exchanges n Dog-walking exchanges n Harvesting and sharing fruit from neighborhood trees


n Sharing free computer software or content


Sharing to the Second Degree: Requires Cooperation + More Extensive Planning


These arrangements generally involve a larger number of people and/or sharing things with more value. They entail a higher degree of cooperation and plan- ning, and a greater investment of time or money, as well as some administra- tive detail work, and likely a written agreement among sharers. n Car ownership n In-home care provider for children, elders or people with disabilities


n Rental housing or ownership of a single-family home


n Yard space for food cultivation n Babysitting co-op with multiple families


n Neighborhood tool lending “library” (perhaps shared shed storage or a list of tools each neighbor owns and is willing to lend)


n Food-buying club n Neighborhood home repair group


Sharing to the Third Degree: Requires Cooperation + Extensive Planning + Infrastructure


At the third degree of sharing, partici- pants will probably adopt systems for communicating, making decisions, managing money and keeping records. They will probably adopt some tech- nologies, like an online calendar for shared scheduling. They may even cre- ate a small nonprofit or limited liability company (LLC).


As a result of creating such infrastruc- ture, third-degree sharing arrangements often have an identity independent of their individual members. In other words, even as members come and go and there is complete turnover, the shar- ing arrangement remains and becomes a lasting community institution. n Car-sharing club


n Cooperative groceries n Parent-run cooperative preschools n Offices, studios, commercial kitchens and other workspaces shared among multiple entrepreneurs


n Communitywide tool lending libraries


n Cooperatives that facilitate sharing of resources and collective bargaining by businesses


Sharing to the Fourth Degree: Requires Cooperation + Extensive Planning + Infrastructure + Communitywide


Restructuring and Mobilization


More formalized community participa- tion, whether publicly or privately man- aged, involves significant investment of time and resources and a more complex system of administration. Taking sharing to the fourth degree might require getting government buy-in, mobilizing multiple players (legislators, investors, banks, de- velopers, planners) or even restructuring how a community collaborates. n Communitywide car-sharing program n Official designation of casual carpooling parking lots and pickup spots


n Citywide bike-sharing programs n Dedication of public land to community gardening plots


n Expansion of public library systems to include lending of tools, equipment and other goods


n Planning of neighborhoods and housing designs to facilitate extensive common areas and community interaction


n Citywide WiFi programs


Janelle Orsi is co-author of The Sharing Solution: How to Save Money, Simplify Your Life & Build Community. As a “sharing lawyer,” she helps commu- nities share housing and cars, create cooperatives, launch urban farming initiatives and form socially-minded and community-supported enterprises. She co-directs the nonprofit Sustainable Economies Law Center.


natural awakenings July 2011 35


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