CFP RGS-IBG Annual Conference, Exeter, September 2015 Session: Critical geographies of the sharing economy Sponsored by the Economic Geography Research Group Session convenors: Filippo Celata, University of Rome La Sapienza (Italy), [email protected] and  Ramon Ribera-Fumaz, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Spain), [email protected]   Abstract: The sharing economy is emerging as a powerful force for restructuring post-recession economies, for mitigating climate change through the sustainable (re-)use of resources, and for experimenting with non-capitalistic practices in which ownership and markets are replaced by access, collaborative consumption and commoning. The sharing economy is also becoming a new venue for venture capital investments, and has been accused of disrupting old industries by devolving further any legal, fiscal and social responsibilities to low-paid and unregulated “micro-entrepreneurs” who are induced to monetize personal assets and to compete against each other through self-branding. The aim of the session is to address this controversy from a geographical perspective, which is still missing. Sharing is indeed embedded in interpersonal relationships and based upon a variety of relational proximities which are needed to create links, trust, and reciprocity among people who share. These networks have a peculiar spatiality, may be more or the less inclusive, diverse, autonomous, ‘alternative’, and require the social infrastructure which is typical of cohesive communities and of densely urbanized areas. The problem is that community-based initiatives in the field often strive to survive and to up-scale. Internet-based intermediaries are indeed necessary to provide what self-organized networks rarely guarantee: efficient platforms, reputation systems and the critical mass of connections which are needed to reduce transaction costs and risks. These ICT platforms are increasingly controlled by big corporations which mobilize an array of benign geographical imaginaries - communitarism, autonomy, intimacy, reciprocity, authenticity, sustainability, etc. - for legitimising a business model that may be regarded as the last frontier of post-fordism, and as the advent of a libertarian and purely informational capitalism in which control over social networks became a major source of oligopolistic power. We invite papers which deal with the bright as well as dark side of this emerging phenomenon, and in particular: # The sharing economy and the spatiality of collaborative networks # The sharing economy and the geographies of community # The sharing economy and the diverse economies # The sharing economy and the reconfiguration of work and labour relations # The sharing economy and the extending geographies of outsourcing # The sharing economy and creative destruction # The sharing economy and (de)monetization # The sharing economy and the marketing of the self # The sharing economy and material/immaterial internet geographies # The sharing economy and libertarian/informational capitalism   If you are interested in presenting a paper in this session, please send an abstract of max. 250 words to Filippo Celata, [email protected] and  Ramon Ribera-Fumaz, [email protected] The deadline is 10 February 2015. -- maxigas, kiberpunk FA00 8129 13E9 2617 C614 0901 7879 63BC 287E D166 http://research.metatron.ai/ Life is more than artificial intelligence.