Shared Infrastructures: reinventing space usage

A library, school, senior care home, or corporate office can open up to other activities and users beyond their original purpose. This is the idea behind “shared infrastructures,” a concept Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM) and its Inclusive Sustainability Chair explores in a white paper for those looking to embrace this approach.

Interview with Fiona Ottavioni, associate professor at Grenoble Ecole de Management and co-holder of the Inclusive Sustainability Chair

Why share infrastructures instead of reserving them for their initial use?

Shared infrastructures are a major focus for the Inclusive Sustainability Chair partners. They can facilitate interactions among different groups and become hubs of community activity. Examples include a senior home with an on-site daycare or a gymnasium that hosts school sports by day, association meetings in the evening, and weddings on weekends. Additionally, every building consumes natural space and is costly to construct and maintain, yet many are underused. Better to intensify the use of existing structures than to build new ones.

Why this white paper?

We noticed high interest in shared infrastructures but many questions about how to start. How do you handle building security, access control, insurance, etc.? Who manages governance—the owner, operator, or user representatives? Can diverse uses coexist? Are community engagement goals realistic?

While being a practical guide, our white paper establishes a framework for reflection, shares examples, and provides tools like a project description grid, self-assessment, and a checklist of key questions. It draws from multiple sources, including literature reviews, interviews, workshops by the chair, and ideation work from 500 GEM students.

Download the white paper in French: Partager les infrastructures sociales : comment ouvrir un espace à des usages pluriels ?

What types of shared infrastructures are you interested in?

We focus on actors looking to open a single-use building to host other activities. For example, "Les Bureaux du Cœur," an association that encourages business leaders to open their offices at night for unhoused individuals. Another example is the Sainte-Agnès reintegration association, which hosts an industrial company and an employment coaching firm in its headquarters.

Key Takeaways from Your Research?

First, sharing infrastructure does not automatically create social bonds. Organizing interactions between unfamiliar groups is ambitious. The building provides a framework, but it doesn’t replace the work of social mediation, which should be handled by skilled professionals—something many stakeholders may not initially realize.

Second, projects involving vulnerable populations must be realistic rather than “romanticized.” A senior in a care home is still an older adult with limited stamina, even with exciting on-site activities. Similarly, a homeless guest in an office at night seeks rest and security, not necessarily deep conversation. This mismatch in expectations can lead to disappointment. Embracing these groups often requires adjustments and learning through trial and error.

Examples of Shared Infrastructures

In Marseille, Les Jardins d'Haïti combines a senior home, daycare, music school, and coworking space.

In Vaulx-en-Velin (Rhône), Atelier Léonard-de-Vinci houses a library, social center, Fablab, and performance hall in one space.

In Paris, a flower farm operates on the rooftop of Robert Debré Hospital.

In Crolles (Isère), Le Perchoir hosts a climbing gym, coworking space, restaurant, café, and concert hall.

In Isère, the 97 public middle schools offer space for rent to local municipalities, associations, and training organizations outside of school hours.

Inclusive Sustainability Chair

The multi-partner Inclusive Sustainability Chair aims to generate knowledge to analyze, envision, and experiment with new frameworks that support territorial transformations for social and environmental sustainability.

This white paper is the result of a multi-partner collaboration bringing together public and private stakeholders, including the Department of Isère, the Mutualité Française Isère, Algoé, Grenoble Alpes Metropole, the City of Grenoble et La turbine. Korus Group, a sponsor of the Inclusive Sustainability Chair and a key player in workspace design, shares its perspective on this topic in the preface of the book.

Authors of the white paper : at Grenoble Ecole de Management, Fiona Ottavioni and Hélène Picard associate professors and Albane Grandazzi, assistant professor, and Sylvain Bouchard, project manager for innovation and digital solutions for the public good.

Appointment for Territorial Transition: an on-line event dedicated to the sharing of social infrastructures

On the occasion of the publication of the white paper “Sharing Social Infrastructures: How to Open Spaces for Multiple Uses?”, the Inclusive Sustainability Chair invites you to explore the challenges of hybridizing the uses of infrastructures. Through presentations and testimonials from businesses and local authorities, we will address the motivations, modalities, and governance of sharing social infrastructures.

With testimonials from partner companies, associations, and local authorities: