ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 focuses on the available evidence of Airbnb’s impact on housing and neighborhoods, both structural and cultural effects. The empirical evidence suggests that Airbnb and short-term rentals (STRs) have contributed to rising rents, house prices and lack of availability. This impact is not evenly distributed but tends to be concentrated in inner city and trendy neighborhoods where the effects are magnified, fueling the displacement of long-term residents and prompting accusations of racialized gentrification and “touristification.” The authors discuss Airbnb’s active role in marketing neighborhoods as part of its claim to enable visitors to live like a local and note the particular vulnerability of vertical communities in high-rise buildings where STRs compromise security as well as quality of life. Challenging local control over taxes, zoning and housing regulations, they argue that Airbnb turns localities into battlegrounds.
