Enhancing Diversity, Inclusion and Social Cohesion through Practices of Sharing in Housing and Public Space (ProSHARE)

The transnational research project ProSHARE deals with

1. the forms and conditions in which practices of sharing in the field of housing and public space take place in socially mixed neighbourhoods and
2. the potential and limits of these practices for fostering participation and collaboration between diverse populations.  

The ProSHARE consortium conducts research in eight European cities (i.e., Berlin, Stuttgart, Kassel, Vienna, Uppsala, Stockholm, London and Paris), to explore how practices of sharing can contribute to reduce space competition and to enhance diversity, civic engagement, community building and social cohesion in the district. For that purpose we are implementing four urban living labs (ULLbs) – ProSHARE-Labs – in which practices of sharing are explored through practical, participatory experiments. Research results will be shared with the academic community, stakeholders, and the public. 

Funded by JPI Urban Europe. Duration: 2021-2022.  

For further Information please visit the JPI Urban Europe Website and the consortium website. 

Methods 

Common Grounds 

• Sharing results of previous research 
• Exchanging expertise on methods and knowledge, including sharing practices, urban commoning and migration, housing and use of public spaces 
• Expansion of the research networks 

Transnational research 

• Quantitative survey: comparison of practices of sharing in different European cities 
• Qualitative research: participatory action research, ethnographic and spatial approaches, Actors mapping, expert interviews 

Urban Living labs 

• Qualitative approach e.g., focus groups, workshops, pin board intervention 
• Co-creation of participatory interactive formats together with local stakeholders and initiatives 

ProShare labs 

The ProShare labs aims at sustaining existing sharing and urban commoning practices in the field of housing and public space, exploring how existing sharing practices can be extended towards new migrant communities and experimenting with different forms of sharing practices. The local teams are conducting four ProSHARE-labs as open physical and virtual spaces for interaction and exchange. These spaces function as a platform for collaborative experimentation and learning about (new) sharing practices, forms of self-organizational structures within processes of commoning. ProSHARE-labs take place in four cities, anchored in two already existing civic hubs in Paris and London, family/neighbourhood centre in Berlin and an urban initiative in Vienna. 

The University of Sheffield team works specifically with the ProSHARE Labs in London and Paris, in relation with the R-Urban network and previous research conducted by Professor Petrescu. 

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University of Sheffield Team:  

• Professor Doina Petrescu
• Dr Carola Moujan 
• Andrew R Belfield
• Dr Nishat Awan (TU Delft) 

and partners: 

• Constantin Petcou (AAA/R-Urban) 
• Léa Villain (AAA/R-Urban)