Ten Cities Team Up To Create Sharing Economy 'Rule Book'

Sharing economy services like Airbnb and Uber have spread all around the world, and many cities aren't happy about it. The business models are relatively new and many places don't have established regulations on how to deal with these services; some have dealt with this by banning them altogether, while others have scrambled to alter or enact new legislation. Ten cities have decided to take a more proactive approach, joining together to create universal rules on how to handle such services.

According to Bloomberg, mayors from ten cities across the globe, including Paris, Seoul, and New York, have banded together to create a mutual set of rules that will help them throw their collective weight around while making it clear what companies like Airbnb and Uber must do. Per the report, many of these cities have had representatives meet in Amsterdam to talk about the plans. No formal papers or policies have been formed at this time.

A spokesperson for New York Mayor Bill de Blasio's office spoke to Bloomberg about the plans, saying:

Having the 20 or 30 biggest urban markets of the world all operating under entirely different rules doesn't do much good for anyone. We want consumers and tourists to have some consistency, city to city, [to] leverage the size of markets, which together are enormous, so that the voice of cities will actually make an impact.

Many issues have been brought up in regards to these types of companies: everything from how safe they are to how they affect local businesses and how sustainable they are over the long haul. It isn't clear at this point what kind of regulations the cities are considering, but if Paris has its way, we'll see some sort of official proposal or draft by this upcoming October.

SOURCE: Bloomberg