Online sharing communities are emerging all over the world to create links between people. The different platforms and groups offer alternative forms of consumption, where people are renting, lending and even sharing goods instead of buying them. It is not only material products that are being exchanged; people are also offering their knowledge, skills and time.

As people in Europe become more conscious about issues relating to waste, the environment, job security or financial insecurity, the DIY ("do it yourself") or GIY ("grow it yourself") movements have come to offer an alternative to modern consumer culture's emphasis on having to rely on others (industrial bodies, for instance) to satisfy needs.

Local Exchange Trading Systems

Time banking is a means of exchange in a community, where time, not money, is the principal currency.

The Greeters is a worldwide movement born in New York in 1992. Greeters are volunteers who propose to show their city to visitors through their own eyes. As inhabitant of the city, they tell their own story and share special places that mean something in their lives. This alternative to classic tourism fosters multicultural exchanges and fulfilment for the visitor and the locals.

Since the economic crisis in Europe first began, the numbers of empty/abandoned buildings have multiplied. It is not uncommon to see vacant shops and other properties displaying "to let" signs in many towns and cities across the continent; processes of dereliction and ghettoisation are occuring as a result. This in turn affects the morale and well-being of local populations, possibly leading to anti-social behaviour, vandalism, etc. This particular section considers some solutions or "remedies" to alleviate the present situation.

A housing co-operative refers to a group of people and the means they use to collectively control and manage their housing. It can buy and own property and enter into contracts. In brief, housing co-ops are essentially housing associations governed by the tenants/ members and give grassroots control over housing.

A food co-operative or food co-op is a food distribution outlet organised as a co-operative. Food co-operatives are usually consumers' co-operatives where the decisions regarding the production and distribution of its food is chosen by its members.

Co-working spaces possess a huge potential to support environmental sustainability due to their inherently sharing-oriented constitution. At its foundations, co-working supports the sharing of space, supplies and other resources, thereby cutting down on basic wastefulness.