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My bet is this study has the cause and effect backward, which seems to be supported by the study itself and their reaching for vague claims of breakdown of neig

My bet is this study has the cause and effect backward, which seems to be supported by the study itself and their reaching for vague claims of breakdown of neighborhoods ability to fend off crime due to social cohesion. My observation based on people I know in Chicago who are renting out Airbnb is that rapidly rising crime and taxes have caused people to want to move, however the same factors motivating them to leave, ie crime and taxes, have made it impossible for them to sell their property. Unable to sell their apartments these people turn to Airbnb rentals to help fund their new homes since rentals to people who don't know the neighborhoods better are the only way to monitize properties in neighborhoods that were already falling apart before Airbnb thanks to Chicago's utterly incompetent and corrupt government. Point being, Airbnb is a symptom of your neighborhood going to shit, not a cause.

villasv 5y ago
I agree. It's not like those Airbnb's are popping out of nowhere. People are leaving that neighborhood and an increase of Airbnbs indicate that those leaving are folks that do not need to sell an apartment to go to another one - that is, concentrated capital is leaving the neighborhood. I'd say that the article doesn't get the relation backwards because there's a time lag. I'd say there's a confounding factor causing the capital exodus early on and increase in violence later on. The problem is whatever the rich are inconvenienced by that is making them leave, and it looks like whatever it is it predates reported violent crime.
- dahfizz 5y ago
  > People are leaving that neighborhood and an increase of Airbnbs indicate that those leaving are folks that do not need to sell an apartment to go to another one - that is, concentrated capital is leaving the neighborhood. Source? I know a few people who own AirBnBs and they all decided to buy new properties to rent out. I don't see a reason to expect most AirBnBs used to be residences that the owners fled.
inglor_cz 5y ago
"Point being, Airbnb is a symptom of your neighborhood going to shit, not a cause." Pretty much all the historical cities and tourist magnets around the world seem to be an exception, unless "becoming even more touristy" === "going to shit".

villasv 5y ago

I agree. It's not like those Airbnb's are popping out of nowhere. People are leaving that neighborhood and an increase of Airbnbs indicate that those leaving are folks that do not need to sell an apartment to go to another one - that is, concentrated capital is leaving the neighborhood. I'd say that the article doesn't get the relation backwards because there's a time lag. I'd say there's a confounding factor causing the capital exodus early on and increase in violence later on. The problem is whatever the rich are inconvenienced by that is making them leave, and it looks like whatever it is it predates reported violent crime.

dahfizz 5y ago
> People are leaving that neighborhood and an increase of Airbnbs indicate that those leaving are folks that do not need to sell an apartment to go to another one - that is, concentrated capital is leaving the neighborhood. Source? I know a few people who own AirBnBs and they all decided to buy new properties to rent out. I don't see a reason to expect most AirBnBs used to be residences that the owners fled.

inglor_cz 5y ago

"Point being, Airbnb is a symptom of your neighborhood going to shit, not a cause." Pretty much all the historical cities and tourist magnets around the world seem to be an exception, unless "becoming even more touristy" === "going to shit".