The positionality of Localhoods: Gentrification in the wake of the Sharing Economy

The objective of this paper is to develop an explanatory framework to understand the dynamic relationships between tourism mobilities, urban gentrification and the collaborative (peer) economy. The rapid growth of peer accommodation rental in European cities is reshaping the spatial patterns of urban tourism, resulting in a wider dispersion of visitors and the emergence of new nodes (Dredge et al. 2016). Although the highest densities of peer accommodation rental are located in the city centres and around major attractions (Arias Sans & Quaglieri Domínguez, 2016; Gutiérrez et al. 2017), there is also some indication of Airbnb’s “beaten track” extending to residential areas. New tourism nodes are clustered around “localhoods” and reframe tourism consumption around mundane activities, leading to the commodification of everyday life (Richards, 2017). While there is considerable discussion on the controversial effects of Airbnbization on local communities, its drivers and asymmetric dynamics are little understood; i.e. why are some ‘localhoods’ more popular on the peer rental market than others? Based on district-level studies, this paper explores how peer accommodation rental has transformed the positionality (competitive situatedness) of 11 neighbourhoods of Copenhagen on tourism markets, with due attention to diverse forms and scales of mobilities. First, functional and location-bound explanations of attractivity (walkability and public transport access to tourism consumption spaces) will be considered. Second, relational aspects will be studied to qualify the role of the cosmopolitan class (expatriates hosts, multilocal residents, and immigrant entrepreneurs) in shaping neighbourhoods towards touristification. By understanding the drivers of asymmetric positionality of urban neighbourhoods, the study can inform differentiated, micro-scale governance of peer accommodation rental.