This book adds a critical perspective to the legal dialogue on the regulation of 'smart urban mobility'. Mobility is one of the most visible sub-domains of the 'smart city', which has become shorthand for technological advances that influence how cities are structured, public services are fashioned, and citizens coexist. In the urban context, mobility has come under pressure due to a variety of different forces, such as the implementation of new business models (e.g. car and bicycle sharing), the proliferation of alternative methods of transportation (e.g. electric scooters), the emergence of new market players and stakeholders (e.g. internet and information technology companies), and advancements in computer science (in particular due to artificial intelligence). At the same time, demographic changes and the climate crisis increase innovation pressure. In this context law is a seminal factor that both shapes and is shaped by socio-economic and technological change. This book puts a spotlight on recent developments in smart urban mobility from a legal, regulatory, and policy perspective. It considers the implications for the public sector, businesses, and citizens in relation to various areas of public and private law in the European Union, including competition law, intellectual property law, contract law, data protection law, environmental law, public procurement law, and legal philosophy. Chapter 'Location Data as Contractual Counter-Performance: A Consumer Perspective on Recent EU Legislation' of this book is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com.

This Handbook grapples conceptually and practically with what the sharing economy - which includes entities ranging from large for-profit firms like Airbnb, Uber, Lyft, Taskrabbit, and Upwork to smaller, non-profit collaborative initiatives - means for law, and how law, in turn, is shaping critical aspects of the sharing economy. Featuring a diverse set of contributors from many academic disciplines and countries, the book compiles the most important, up-to-date research on the regulation of the sharing economy. The first part surveys the nature of the sharing economy, explores the central challenge of balancing innovation and regulatory concerns, and examines the institutions confronting these regulatory challenges, and the second part turns to a series of specific regulatory domains, including labor and employment law, consumer protection, tax, and civil rights. This groundbreaking work should be read by anyone interested in the dynamic relationship between law and the sharing economy.

In Blockchain Regulation and Governance in Europe, Michele Finck examines the relationship between blockchain technology and EU law and introduces the theme of blockchain governance. The book provides a general introduction to blockchains as both a regulatable and a regulatory technology and outlines the interaction between distributed ledger technology and specific areas of EU law, such as the General Data Protection Regulation. It should be read by anyone interested in EU law, the relationship between law, innovation and technology, and technology governance.

This book adds a critical perspective to the legal dialogue on the regulation of 'smart urban mobility'. Mobility is one of the most visible sub-domains of the 'smart city', which has become shorthand for technological advances that influence how cities are structured, public services are fashioned, and citizens coexist. In the urban context, mobility has come under pressure due to a variety of different forces, such as the implementation of new business models (e.g. car and bicycle sharing), the proliferation of alternative methods of transportation (e.g. electric scooters), the emergence of new market players and stakeholders (e.g. internet and information technology companies), and advancements in computer science (in particular due to artificial intelligence). At the same time, demographic changes and the climate crisis increase innovation pressure. In this context law is a seminal factor that both shapes and is shaped by socio-economic and technological change. This book puts a spotlight on recent developments in smart urban mobility from a legal, regulatory, and policy perspective. It considers the implications for the public sector, businesses, and citizens in relation to various areas of public and private law in the European Union, including competition law, intellectual property law, contract law, data protection law, environmental law, public procurement law, and legal philosophy. Chapter 'Location Data as Contractual Counter-Performance: A Consumer Perspective on Recent EU Legislation' of this book is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com.

In Blockchain Regulation and Governance in Europe, Michele Finck examines the relationship between blockchain technology and EU law and introduces the theme of blockchain governance. The book provides a general introduction to blockchains as both a regulatable and a regulatory technology and outlines the interaction between distributed ledger technology and specific areas of EU law, such as the General Data Protection Regulation. It should be read by anyone interested in EU law, the relationship between law, innovation and technology, and technology governance.

This book explores the role and status of local and regional authorities (also referred to as 'subnational authorities' or 'SNAs') in European Union law, and reveals the existence of two parallel yet opposed constitutional imaginations of the supranational legal order. Through a survey of various areas of EU law, including primary and secondary legislation, case law as well as various soft law instruments, Finck introduces two narratives. These are the 'outsider narrative' and the 'insider narrative' that frame these constitutional imaginations. According to the outsider narrative, the structure of the legal order is bi-centric, composed of the member states and the EU only. This narrative envisages SNAs as outsiders of EU law, whose interactions with Union law are merely of an indirect nature. However, in addition to this well-known account of EU law, a parallel yet distinct narrative can be identified according to which SNAs are insiders that entertain direct relations with the European Union and contribute to the substantive development of EU law. It is illustrated that the coexistence of both narratives has wider implications as it points towards a shift in the structure of the European legal order itself, which is transitioning from bi-centricity to polycentricity.

This Handbook grapples conceptually and practically with what the sharing economy - which includes entities ranging from large for-profit firms like Airbnb, Uber, Lyft, Taskrabbit, and Upwork to smaller, non-profit collaborative initiatives - means for law, and how law, in turn, is shaping critical aspects of the sharing economy. Featuring a diverse set of contributors from many academic disciplines and countries, the book compiles the most important, up-to-date research on the regulation of the sharing economy. The first part surveys the nature of the sharing economy, explores the central challenge of balancing innovation and regulatory concerns, and examines the institutions confronting these regulatory challenges, and the second part turns to a series of specific regulatory domains, including labor and employment law, consumer protection, tax, and civil rights. This groundbreaking work should be read by anyone interested in the dynamic relationship between law and the sharing economy.