Cities, tourism and the tragedy of the commons
The impact of an application such as Airbnb on the development and planning of cities, especially those attractive to tourists, have been the object of study and controversy for some time, while anybody who has recently tried to rent a property in such cities.
The application created by Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk eight years ago has made it extremely easy to rent properties to tourists, and many home owners have been unable to resist the temptation. The attractive areas of cities, since the development of mass tourism, have been under heavy pressure and, in many cases, have turned into theme parks, with business oriented only toward tourists. As more and more homeowners in these areas turn to Airbnb and similar applications to fetch higher profits, less affordable properties remain available to long term residents, driving them out of their neighborhood.
The process of touristification, known for decades in cities such as Venice, is significantly aggravated by making it possible for anybody to let their property out. The initial idea of the founders of Airbnb, two young people who did not have the money to pay the rent on their San Francisco home and so decided to rent one of their rooms to conference delegates, has in many cases been taken over by companies that buy up entire buildings and let out properties…
