San Francisco Shares Responsibility for Building a Resilient City

"Today Mayor Edwin M. Lee and Board President David Chiu announced a first-of-its-kind partnership between San Francisco’s growing sharing economy and local government focused on disaster preparedness and response," says a press release announcing the partnership. "BayShare, a collaborative of sharing economy stakeholders, will also share their skills and resources to make San Francisco a more resilient city." 

"The sharing economy, also known as 'collaborative consumption,' uses technology and social media to promote the sharing and re-use of underutilized assets such as cars, bikes, tools, rooms, spaces, skills and other goods." Companies headquartered in the region include ZipCar, Airbnb, and Taskrabbit.

"One immediate outcome of this new partnership is the launch of BayShare member Airbnb’s new tool to quickly deliver housing assistance to displaced residents following a disaster," says the press release. "Inspired by the Airbnb community’s work to donate housing to victims of Superstorm Sandy, the tool will help provide free emergency housing to families in need in cities in every part of the world."

“Actual emergencies look more like people coming together than cities falling apart,” said San Francisco Department of Emergency Management (DEM) Executive Director Anne Kronenberg. “San Francisco’s recovery starts with the community and our partners that are there to lend a hand. We’re excited to have BayShare as one of our preparedness partners.”