Crowdsourcing infrastructures of green everyday life: how sustainable sharing, swapping and gardening initiatives in Vienna tackle the lack of transformative agency in eco-politics

Figures & data

Table 1. Key characteristics of the three EAAOs.

EAAO	Location and Time	Grievances (all participants)	Strategy (organizers only)	Organization	Activities
Leila	A library of things that is located in a salesroom in the multicultural inner-city district of Ottakring. It opens twice a week for three hours for rental services and for occasional neighborhood events on sharing culture. Founded in 2013.	Overuse of natural resources; climate change; inefficient use of consumer goods; cluttering of homes; overconsumption	Objective: the common use of items, ‘which saves (schont) the environment, money and space’ (official website description). The long-term goal is a library of things (irrespective of publicly owned or civil-society-run) in every neighborhood, allowing every city dweller to borrow things in their immediate vicinity. Rationale: diffusing sharing practices via replication by as many as possible.	A team of 9 organizers does shifts at the shop and administers the online rental platform, social media activities, neighborhood events and knowledge exchange with third parties. A changing number of volunteers assists by doing shifts at the shop, promoting Leila at neighborhood events, making photos for the website and repairing items. Leila used to operate on a model according to which every borrower had to take over a task in the library, however due to disappointing numbers of engagement, they switched to the current voluntary model. Leila notes between about 300 and 400 rentals per year.	Running the library that offers more than 200 things, ranging from tools and kitchen equipment to instruments and camping gear; promoting sharing practices (such as cloth swapping or joint repairing) at neighborhood events (some of which are financially supported by the City of Vienna); advising public and private entities in how to set up and run a library of things; exchanging know-how and best practices with other libraries of things through an EU-funded project.
Gemein-schafts-gartenDonaukanal	A community garden located on the Northern bank of the Danube canal, one of the most popular meeting spots in the city center. Accessible 24/7. Founded in 2013.	Gentrification; lack of nature; lack of public space; segregation of urban milieus; lack of community; biodiversity loss; climate change	Objective: stalling the rising number of gastronomic businesses that have been supplanting green space on the canal bank; facilitating dialogue between different urban milieus; promoting sustainable gardening practices. Rationale: by providing the large seating area and maintaining individual garden beds, a ‘second living room’ (Konrad, organizer) for city dwellers is created, which helps pursuing the aforementioned goals.	31 gardeners cultivate 52 raised beds and the seating area, both of which can be publicly accessed. Common garden activities are organized by working groups and coordinated by a monthly plenum. Organizers seek to strengthen collaboration in working groups, as there has been an increasing number of freeriders among them. The garden community holds a lease contract for the garden grounds with the City of Vienna, which only demands a symbolically low annual leasing fee. The city park department provides support in taking care of trees and constructing a fence around the garden’s perimeter.	Individual garden beds are cared for independently, common garden beds, which involve edible plants, are maintained by working groups. Organizers and volunteers periodically organize public debates, literature readings or cinema screenings in the seating area. Especially during the warm months of the year, city dwellers populate the seating area for mingling or having a drink. Occasionally, the garden community hosts organic planting workshops at schools.
Leiberl-Rouleltte	A clothing swap initiative that organizes swapping parties on the terrace of the Don Bosco Haus, a catholic youth-educational center, to which two organizers have personal ties, in the outer-city district of Hietzing. Three to four parties are planned per year but less have taken place due to COVID-19. Founded in 2020.	Working conditions in the global textile industry; resource use of fashion labels; fast fashion; climate change; overconsumption	Objective: ‘Setting an example against throw-away culture and for saving resources and living sustainability’ (official facebook description). Rationale: the more individuals enjoy the quality of clothes, the atmosphere of the outdoor venue and the music and snacks that are offered, the more swappers may join the events and escalate the impact of exchanging second-hand clothes instead of buying new ones.	Three friends are organizing the parties on- site and are supported by eight to ten volunteers during each swapping party. Currently, each event attracts 87 swappers on average, most of which are female. The sum of the entrance fee of 2 € is donated to the Don Bosco Haus’ activities with socially disadvantaged youths in the global South.	Clothing swap parties are announced on Leiberl-Roulette’s facebook page. Swappers often come in groups and combine their exchanging activity with having a cup of coffee or relaxing in the adjacent garden. On the facebook page, Leiberl-Roulette also informs followers about the environmental and ethical consequences of the clothing industry.