Lisa Gansky, author of The Mesh and a well-known West Coast tech entrepreneur (the photo sharing tool Ofoto was partly her doing) introduced a beautiful phrase at yesterday’s Municipal Art Society Summit in New York City: “meanwhile use.”
As Gansky pointed out, the phrase has the benefit of being perfectly British, so much so that it’s nearly impossible not to hear Colin Firth saying it in your head. But the idea gets at the notion that there are things people own that might find another use while their owners are busy with other things — a car, a spare bedroom. In the United Kingdom, the concept is particularly focused on finding creative uses of vacant spaces in town centers between commercial rentals.
In the U.S., we’ve somewhat strangely started talking about similar things as “sharing” or the “sharing economy.” Of course, as every kindergartner knows, sharing doesn’t generally involve getting money in return. Nor tax laws. But meanwhile sort of hits a sweet spot. Sure, it’s something you own. But while you’re not using it, hey, might as well make a buck — or a quid — off letting someone else use it.
Nancy Scola is a Washington, DC-based journalist whose work tends to focus on the intersections of technology, politics, and public policy. Shortly after returning from Havana she started as a tech reporter at POLITICO.