The hand-writing is on the wall: sharing is a growing trend that will only accelerate with further economic contractions, resource scarcity and climate change.

We will have to figure out a new way to co-exist and this is the answer. Meet the economic revolution…

According to the survey below of 500 respondents, 60% made the connection between sharing and sustainability, citing “better for the environment” as one benefit of sharing.

The rise of sharing requires us to use a new language where “access” trumps “purchases”, and people are no longer consumers but instead users, borrows, lenders and contributors. All of this means businesses must redefine their role from providers of stuff to become purveyors of services and experiences.

Sources:  Latitude Research and Shareable Magazine

Source: École Polytechnique de Montréal

This morning, in the presence of project partners and transportation sector representatives, École Polytechnique de Montréal launched the MOBILITÉ Research Chair on assessing and implementing sustainable transportation.

Extending métro lines, introducing carsharing and bikesharing systems, building bridges and roads with dedicated bus lanes, re-engineering and improving the safety of intersections and arteries … How do you anticipate and assess the impacts of such initiatives, taking into account both individual needs and community sustainable development issues?

To answer this complex question, the Ville de Montréal, Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT), Ministère des Transports du Québec (MTQ) and Société de transport de Montréal (STM) have joined forces with École Polytechnique to launch the MOBILITÉ Research Chair. Held by Dr. Catherine Morency, a professor in the school’s Department of Civil, Geological and Mining Engineering, the Chair will help assess the impact of transportation projects, policies and plans on sustainable development through targeted research, experimentation and methodological development.