Published by SHARECITY on the 2nd March 2016.

Hello and welcome to the new SHARECITY website!

SHARECITY is a newly established research project based out of Trinity College Dublin and funded by the European Research Council. Over the next five years we, the SHARECITY research team, will be examining food sharing activities in cities around the world and assessing their potential to contribute to urban sustainability transitions. In SHARECITY food sharing is understood in an expansive way to include not only the sharing of food itself (from seeds to produce and even compost), but also the sharing of spaces (for growing, cooking or eating), knowledge (about growing, cooking and eating) and experiences (of growing, cooking and eating).

The research was developed because it is clear that a combination of enabling technologies, particularly internet and mobile technologies, alongside global financial uncertainty and greater environmental awareness, are radically reshaping what, how and with whom we share. Utilising these new technologies means that food sharing has the potential to reduce consumption and improve resource efficiency by preventing unnecessary waste and optimising the use of idling resources. Food sharing also provides opportunities for developing and bolstering social interaction, potentially leading to increased social capital and may even create opportunities for greater food security whether through enhanced foraging of public harvests or through the generation of additional income through the exchange of homecooked delicacies.

By analysing the practice of food sharing in cities around the world, SHARECITY will generate new knowledge of how and why people share food in the 21^st Century and the potential ways that sharing could steer our cities towards enhanced environmental, economic and social sustainability.

We will be updating this blog on a regular basis to keep you posted on all the new things happening here at SHARECITY, as well as discussing the exciting sharing activities stirring around the globe. Please take a moment to explore our new website and learn more about our new project, and be sure to check in regularly for new information and updates.

If you have any questions about our project or would like to inform us about food sharing activities in your area then please do not hesitate to get in touch with us at sharecity@tcd.ie or through our social media platforms.

The SHARECITY team