Short-Term City Dynamics: Effects and Proposals before the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Sharing platforms have been changing urban balances and triggering historical cities’ transformation from a structural, economic, and social perspective before the Covid-19 Pandemic. In particular, Airbnb influences urban space, production through physical impacts and the tendency to mystify places, appealing to authenticity and experiential tourism. New images of reality, mediated by the platform, constitute the symbolic production of the city’s tourist palatability, which is intertwined with new uses and the exasperation of the consumption of a part of the cultural heritage. The research aims to structure a hybrid methodological approach combining investigation and assessment for identifying and understanding the impacts of touristification and over-tourism on the urban dimension and develop intervention strategies consistent with the Circular Economy perspective. In Southern Italy, Naples City is chosen as a case study and field test.

Keywords

• Touristification
• Cultural heritage
• Short-term rental market
• Platform urbanism
• Web-scraping