REINVENTING HOW SPACES AND PLACES ARE SHARED
Jeremy Hurst
Wherever there are people , there is a need for spaces … right ? Spaces to work , learn , train , connect , counsel , celebrate , play , pray , exercise , trade , entertain , compete , be , grieve and more .
The right space is a container for the things we do as humans . How we find , share , use , book , pay and return to spaces has , typically been a series of awkward processes . Without meaning to , these processes have blocked the hiring and sharing of spaces in our communities .
Over seven years ago , my organisation set out to understand why these blockers existed and how to make bookings frictionless . We also wanted to fix the waste that occurs with existing and underutilised spaces in our communities . In a nutshell ; improve the customer journey and grow space utilisation in the process . In this article I ’ m going to share some of the insights we have uncovered in partnering with community space owners , local government and local businesses .
Reinventing how spaces and place are shared matters for community , for
sustainability and for local area economies . But first , why is the space sharing economy important ?
WHY WE NEED TO ENABLE SPACE SHARING Think about the activities you have participated in this year ; what has been in your daily , weekly , monthly routines ? Have you attended any of these activities in buildings or outdoor spaces / places that are not your workplace or your home ?
Workshop e . g . art Community meeting Coaching Lesson e . g . dance Sport training Fundraiser Performance e . g . music Committee meeting AGM Class e . g . yoga / cooking Offsite work meeting Social sport Rehearsal e . g . dramatic Fitness Wedding or Engagement Ceremony e . g . culture
Birthday party Interview Quiz night Competition e . g . debate
This is not an exhaustive list but most people would say they ’ ve attended at least 8 of these , few would say less than 4 . What is evident when we think about these things is the depth of activity going on in our communities at all times . These activities bind people with things in common , within shared spaces .
Some of these activities are centered around volunteers ( committee meeting ), some are people with a side-hustle ( teaching drama to kids ), some are part of a professional service ( corporate training ). Other activities could be new and untested ideas ( entrepreneurial experiments ). In most cases , there is a transaction of funds for either one , two or all of these :
1 . Hiring a community venue 2 . Paying for the activity experience that occurs in the community venue 3 . Potential for overflow into other local businesses
VOL 16 NO 2 2023 32 www . edaustralia . com . au