From helping immigrants or the elderly to building their economies, once-hesitant governments are now warming to the notion of sharing. On a predecided day in August, tens of thousands of Uber drivers across Australia refused to pick up passengers, protesting the company’s wage regulations, which don’t account for traffic snarls and waiting times. But in the city of Boroondara, in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, there was a much less contentious example of the sharing economy playing out — fully supported by the local government. The affluent, elderly town, which has Australia’s largest number of single-occupancy dwellings, was opening its doors for home- and food-sharing projects, in the hope of fighting loneliness by attracting cash-strapped Melbourne millennials. This was a reversal of roles — a government facilitating the sharing economy even as a firm synonymous with it was struggling. For years, governments around the world have mostly viewed the disruptive nature of the sharing economy with skepticism. Some cities have banned ride-sharing apps. Others have tried to regulate or discourage home-sharing platforms. Now, that’s changing. | 
