The sharing economy is not new by any stretch of the imagination, for people have been exchanging goods and services since the Stone Age. What is new is the technology that allows scale and speed, encouraging a formal organization of this economy. Entrepreneurs are now creating businesses revolved around this niche. Decision makers are noticing, including Park Won Soon, mayor of Seoul, who pledged to make Seoul the most shareable city in 2013.

Likewise, at economic summits across America and globally, such as the Collaborative Consumption conference in San Francisco last October, city leaders discussed how the sharing economy model can play a leading role in the growth of economies. These businesses are springing up all over the world: from a tool sharing company in Toronto, to an online vintage clothing shop in California, everywhere you look people are doing business in this new, yet very old way. So where do city leaders fit into the picture?

The movers in this economy are setting the foundation for what will become, according to many economic forecasters, a very important component in the future of the global economy. Some people unfortunately still view “sharing” as a free for all, do as you please economy with no regulations, dividing the community into two very different segments: those who care about how people are treated, and those who are in it only for profit. We believe that the companies that will succeed are those that map out their business plan, but are mission driven as well. In that respect, it is very encouraging to see these issues being brought to the forefront.

City leaders are looking to the sharing economy as an alternative economic model that can renew their communities by providing new jobs, encourage entrepreneurship, and make use of idle resources. Leaders are realizing that it’s important to lay out the framework for this economy to thrive in the next decade.

Cities can mobilize their idle assets by changing their perspectives. Mayors are now seeing idle resources in their cities which used to be hidden. Collaborative consumption models tap into the concept of untapped idle resources. When resources are left idle, inefficiency results: lost revenues, expensive overhead, stagnant economies. Resources don’t just mean products and services, but skills, spaces, tools, surfboards, and more.

Idling capacity exists all over this city and others, but is hidden so most people don’t see it. We don’t think of warehouses that sit idle for 90% of the time, or cars that are idle 40 percent of the time. These include resources owned by the city, resulting in even more lost revenue over time. Terry O’Reilly, from CBC radio, explains:

“There's an extraordinary amount of unused stuff sitting idle in storage facilities. We have so much stuff in our lives that the self-storage industry has been the fastest growing sector in commercial real-estate over the last 35 years.”

This industry is not too happy about another one: the sharing economy. Thanks to advancements in technology, anyone with an iPhone or computer can sell or exchange goods or services that would have been left idle. Think of a single mom who wants to bring her son to Spain for the first time, and funds most of her vacation by renting out her quaint apartment in Montreal. This transaction has a ripple effect of the economy: the guests go out for drinks in the neighborhood, eat out at restaurants or catch a show at the local theater. There’s no mystery, the sharing economy is just what this world needed to boost back from the economic downturn of 2009.

In order to have the most positive impact, city leaders need to educate themselves on how this economy runs, whom the business owners are and the challenges they face to create long-term growth. This is attained by attending conferences but mostly by building relationships with the entrepreneurs over time so solutions are found mutually, not just mandated. With the controversy of Uber fresh in the news and Airbnb’s impact on housing, it’s crucial for the public to get a more objective perspective. Although city leaders are in positions of power, they are outsiders looking inside an economy that has been around for ages and now coming into its own. By developing programs that encourage entrepreneurship, instead of mandating companies on how to run their business, city leaders will fuel a part of the economy that really needs a boost.