The rapid expansion of platform capitalism has reshaped urban spaces by transforming housing into a financialized asset, fostering a "politics of urban rent production." This paper examines platform-based property rentals, such as those facilitated by Airbnb, as mechanisms of rentier capitalism, emphasizing their role in generating new forms of digital and urban enclosures. By situating platforms within the frameworks of political economy, political ecology, and geographic studies, the research explores the intersection of property relations, rent dynamics, and spatial transformations. Platforms function as intermediaries, reducing transaction costs while mediating social and economic exchanges. This dual mediation draws parallels with traditional land ownership, where platforms act as digital landlords, leveraging their position to extract rent. The concept of the "Internet of Landlords" further illustrates the technological and infrastructural underpinnings of these rentier mechanisms, characterized by data-driven algorithms, automated asset management, and enclosure processes that capture value in previously uncommodified spaces. Focusing on Airbnb, the paper highlights how platform-based rentals convert underutilized housing stock into income-generating assets. This transition fosters shifts in urban housing use, exacerbating rent gaps and intensifying urban inequalities. These dynamics challenge traditional urban governance and necessitate new regulatory frameworks. Cities like Barcelona and Amsterdam have implemented various measures to address the impacts of short-term rentals (STRs), yet these responses reveal limitations in enforcement and data access, leading to ongoing conflicts between platforms, policymakers, and urban residents. The paper underscores the multiscalar complexities of STR regulation, influenced by national, regional, and EU-level governance. While platforms employ lobbying strategies to resist regulation, public resistance and grassroots activism demand policy frameworks grounded in spatial justice and equitable urban development. Ultimately, this study positions rental platforms as pivotal actors in the digital restructuring of urban rents, calling for comprehensive regulatory interventions to address their social, spatial, and economic implications.

Platform-based property rentals as new enclosures in urban spaces. Regulatory proposals from a digital perspective / DEL GIUDICE, Gaetana; DE TULLIO, MARIA FRANCESCA. - (2022). (Intervento presentato al convegno 7ème Congrès du RIODD - Réseau International de Recherche sur les Organisations et le Développement Durable “Communs, communautés, territoires: quelles voies pour les transitions?” tenutosi a Aubervilliers (France) nel 16 – 18 novembre 2022).

Platform-based property rentals as new enclosures in urban spaces. Regulatory proposals from a digital perspective

Gaetana Del Giudice
;
Maria Francesca De Tullio
2022

Abstract

The rapid expansion of platform capitalism has reshaped urban spaces by transforming housing into a financialized asset, fostering a "politics of urban rent production." This paper examines platform-based property rentals, such as those facilitated by Airbnb, as mechanisms of rentier capitalism, emphasizing their role in generating new forms of digital and urban enclosures. By situating platforms within the frameworks of political economy, political ecology, and geographic studies, the research explores the intersection of property relations, rent dynamics, and spatial transformations. Platforms function as intermediaries, reducing transaction costs while mediating social and economic exchanges. This dual mediation draws parallels with traditional land ownership, where platforms act as digital landlords, leveraging their position to extract rent. The concept of the "Internet of Landlords" further illustrates the technological and infrastructural underpinnings of these rentier mechanisms, characterized by data-driven algorithms, automated asset management, and enclosure processes that capture value in previously uncommodified spaces. Focusing on Airbnb, the paper highlights how platform-based rentals convert underutilized housing stock into income-generating assets. This transition fosters shifts in urban housing use, exacerbating rent gaps and intensifying urban inequalities. These dynamics challenge traditional urban governance and necessitate new regulatory frameworks. Cities like Barcelona and Amsterdam have implemented various measures to address the impacts of short-term rentals (STRs), yet these responses reveal limitations in enforcement and data access, leading to ongoing conflicts between platforms, policymakers, and urban residents. The paper underscores the multiscalar complexities of STR regulation, influenced by national, regional, and EU-level governance. While platforms employ lobbying strategies to resist regulation, public resistance and grassroots activism demand policy frameworks grounded in spatial justice and equitable urban development. Ultimately, this study positions rental platforms as pivotal actors in the digital restructuring of urban rents, calling for comprehensive regulatory interventions to address their social, spatial, and economic implications.
2022
Platform-based property rentals as new enclosures in urban spaces. Regulatory proposals from a digital perspective / DEL GIUDICE, Gaetana; DE TULLIO, MARIA FRANCESCA. - (2022). (Intervento presentato al convegno 7ème Congrès du RIODD - Réseau International de Recherche sur les Organisations et le Développement Durable “Communs, communautés, territoires: quelles voies pour les transitions?” tenutosi a Aubervilliers (France) nel 16 – 18 novembre 2022).
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11588/991860
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