Smart City Day '23: Platform economies, what alternative models?

On the occasion of Smart City Day 2023, Lucien Langton was invited to take part in a panel in Neuchâtel on digital commons and alternative models to platform economies.

Full video of the round table available here

Platform economies, an introduction

What are we talking about when we refer to platform economies? Etymologically speaking, the word " platform " appeared in Old French around 1540 AD, and was used to designate a stage, a flat space on which events take place. Ironically, GAFAMs are reproducing today what some refer to as platform feudalism. Google, Amazon and other platforms induce a totalitarian power relationship over their subjects (the people who use the service, urban mobilities, and territories) to extract value, holding them captive through what philosopher Benjamin Bratton refers to as entrenched enclave mechanisms.

Some refer to this as extractivist economies and in some cases even predatorial capitalism. It's also interesting to note that platforms position themselves as intermediaries rather than as final objects of consumption. In this way, they operate as structures that capture the values that pass through them, without defining a precise plan of action: they exist precisely by creating the scene and letting events unfold.

The city as a lab for collective intelligence

Currently, many alternatives to traditional economies of scale are being developed in urban environments on cooperative bases: in Portugal a renewable energy cooperative, in Paris a bicycle delivery cooperative, in Switzerland housing cooperatives... the digital world is not left behind, with digital cooperatives such as Fairbnb, just one example of digital platform cooperatives.

At a time when many cities are suffering from gentrification and the privatization of public (and private) space, a commons-based approach would help combat this phenomenon. Indeed, as Michel Bauwens, a specialist in digital commons, points out, the "heavy" commons (tangible, physical) must be anchored locally, but the "lightweight" commons (knowledge, information, resources, and tools) can be shared and updated globally: for example, the various urban strategies for mobility, short circuits, housing cooperatives, and democratic participation are already shared globally in some online communities.

A social contract as the basis for a digital commons: the Decidim case study

A textbook case of open innovation at the service of the commons, the Decidim project is unique in that it has a local and international legal basis, and a democratic way of operating, as expressed in the social contract that forms the basis of the project. Everyone who participates in the project must accept it.

In concrete terms, this social contract links the free license (AGPLV3) under which the project's source code is published, the management of the project to a non-profit association based in Barcelona, and the organization of the association's activities to its members with a democratic operation (based on their own tool). These three aspects therefore create a common sovereignty for the project and enable clear financial relationships between Decidim specialists (like Octree) and the association, to which they pay a share of their revenues in order to support the project economically on an international scale, on the openCollective platform.

In the case above, Decidim acts as a digital commons for democratic participation. Since its birth in 2016, this approach has seen Decidim grow in over 30 countries, constituting more than 500 platforms, with cities such as New York, Barcelona, Geneva, and Helsinki relying on collective intelligence rather than proprietary solutions.

What are the requirements for a pragmatic, commons-based Smart City strategy?

Decidim benefited from academic, political and popular credibility. In terms of resources, the Decidim association has essentially benefited from public and institutional funding. However, the association is now diversifying its finances with a system of financial rewards from cities and project partners.

In reality, these initial investments represent little risk: when each city is pooled, public spending is better allocated and feedback shared, creating the foundations for sovereign territorial resilience while strengthening collective intelligence.

At Octree we have projects in the fields of democratic participation, mobility and the management of recyclable materials for territories that are just waiting to become part of your Smart City strategy.

You have a question about a project? Contact us and let's talk.

- Lucien for Octree