Platform Capitalism – Air BnB’s Takeover + the Cities that Resist

Summer! Time to kick-back and get away. With holidays on the agenda, The Filmmaker and the Advocate take a deeper dive into Air BnB and the short-term rental world. Joined by Professor of Urban Studies and Planning at University College London, Claire Colomb, Leilani and Fredrik discuss the rapid rise of Air BnB in 16 cities across Europe – going from zero presence in 2010 to 18,000 listings in Amsterdam, 26,000 in Berlin, 28,000 in Barcelona, 48,000 in London and just over 60,000 in Paris in a six-year period. The impact of this on cities is considerable – from a decline in long-term housing stock, an increase in rents  and overall living costs, to the dominance of tourist amenities which are replacing community services for long-term residents. Now valued at $100 billion USD, the multi-national is flexing its might, increasingly sitting at political tables, wielding resources and influence. But City governments like Berlin, Barcelona, Madrid and others are pushing back – finding creative ways to protect their cities and those who live there. For more about Air BnB see:Regulating short-term rentals. Platform-based property rentals in European cities: the policy debates by Claire Colomb and Tatiana de Souzahttps://www.propertyresearchtrust.org/short_term_rentals.html The Airbnb ‘movement’ for deregulation how platform-sponsored grassroots lobbying is changing politics by L. Yates https://research.ethicalconsumer.org/research-hub/ethical-consumption-review/airbnbs-growing-political-powerProduced by WG Film Recorded & Edited by Mikey JonesMusic by Florencia Di ConcilioSocial Media & Support - Maja MobergSupport the show