In face of challenges arising from the arrival of companies in the so-called sharing economy in Brazil, a team from InternetLab sought to identify the challenges and possible alternatives to regulate these new business models, with a focus on urban mobility. The project, funded by the Ford Foundation, was organized in three fronts: scientific research, a civil society mobilization event, and the organization of a book about the “state of the art” of the debate on the sharing economy in Brazil.

The scientific research, focused on the regulation of transportation in São Paulo, sought to answer the following question: how was the regulatory model of individual public transportation built, and what are the reasons for regulating this sector? We presented the research results in government and civil society participatory spaces, seeking to contribute to the regulatory debate. Additionally, we held the event “New technologies and their possibilities in the city,” with the presence of representatives from academia, government and civil society, to discuss topics related to the role of new technologies in the city.

The final product of the project was the book “Sharing Economies and the Law,” published in October 2017 by the publisher Editora Juruá, which brings together articles by experts from various fields on subjects related to the sharing economy, along with the translation of an essay by Juliet Schor (Boston College) and an interview with Ricardo Abramovay (FEA/USP).