Project description
A closer look at the links between short-term rentals and housing financialisation
The home-sharing site Airbnb has been used by more than 500 million people in over 100 000 cities in 191 countries since 2008. No doubt, digital platforms like Airbnb have rocked the market of short-term rentals and given rise to various issues, concerns and debates on local and national levels. One ongoing debate stems from the fact that short-term rentals have become professionalised – they are no longer covered by the ‘sharing economy’ in which hosts occasionally share their homes with visitors. The EU-funded POLIS project will study cases in two EU cities, Lisbon and Leipzig, to understand relations between short-term rentals and housing financialisation. It will investigate to what extent Airbnb channels financial investment into the housing market.
Objective
The success of digital platforms such as Airbnb and the subsequent proliferation of short-term rentals in cities have caused many challenges for local authorities, especially regarding the regulation and mitigation of their social impacts. Current attempts to regulate short-term rentals assume that Airbnb and similar providers are part of the so-called ‘sharing economy’ in which hosts would occasionally share their homes with visitors. However, there is increased evidence that short-term rentals have become professionalised, and that individual and corporate investors have started to channel substantial investment into this market. In this regard, POLIS explores the links between short-term rentals and housing financialisation and, in doing so, will provide innovative understandings of the Airbnb-led restructuring of local housing markets. POLIS draws on the principles of evidence-based policy making with the aim of advancing policy innovation for the regulation of this emerging economic sector. In particular, POLIS will address three research objectives: it will (i) examine the professionalisation of the short-term rental market; (ii) investigate to what extent Airbnb channels financial investment into the housing market; (iii) elaborate alternative policy proposals for positive change. POLIS is a gender-sensitive project and has an intrinsic gender dimension in all phases of the research. The project will explore the cases of two European cities: Lisbon and Leipzig. It will provide comparative insights into a topic that has proved to be of significant political, economic and spatial relevance. Research objectives will be addressed using a mixed-method design that collects and analyses data from a variety of sources, especially in-depth interviews and critical policy analysis. With short-term rentals on the agendas of local authorities in different contexts, the POLIS project will produce high quality transferable outcomes for other EU cities and beyond.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
LS2 9JT Leeds
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.