Exploring the strategic communication of the sharing city project through frame analysis: The case of Barcelona sharing city

© 2020 The Author(s) The term ‘sharing’ has become popularized in academic and practitioner circles. Recently, the concept of the sharing city has emerged. However, there is no homogenous global discourse about the sharing city. This could lead to very diverse interpretations of what the sharing city is and how it should be implemented. This study explores how the sharing city project is understood and strategically communicated by the municipality of Barcelona. A frame analysis of 67 documents published in the Barcelona City Council website during 2015–2018 has been used. Additionally, documents about strategies, plans and public policies related with Barcelona Sharing City were taken into account. Municipality's initiatives in relation to the sharing city spread across eleven areas including education, housing, entrepreneurship among others. Using the prognostic, diagnostic and motivational framings, it is found that the municipality aims i) to promote the sharing city as the combination of a top-down approach and citizen participation, ii) to constitute the notion of sharing as an opportunity for the city's future iii) to generate trust towards the local administration presenting it as an agent for the city's change. Also, the notion of sharing and sharing economy are explored in the case of Barcelona sharing city.