Gökçe Uzgören Presented a Paper at the 7th International Urban Studies Congress!

From the abstract:
 
“In this study, which aims to focus on the relationship between Airbnb and the financialization of housing; The focus is on the conflict between seeing the house as a living space, a social space and a profit making tool. In the study, first of all, the functioning of the Airbnb system and the change process of the mentioned operation were analyzed with a historical perspective. Then, a theoretical analysis of Airbnb's institutionalization and professionalization tendencies, as well as the socio-spatial transformations it has created in housing and housing environments, has been made. Finally, the actors involved in the process and the role of these actors in the financialization of housing are defined by presenting examples of the usage patterns of Airbnb in one of the important tourism destinations such as Beyoğlu.
 
It is thought that Airbnb can be considered as one of the actors in the financialization process of housing, which can be summarized as global financial actors becoming more and more dominant in the housing market. Financialization of housing refers to structural changes and global investments in housing and financial markets (Kılıç, 2020: 97). When it comes to Airbnb, it is seen that the actors investing in housing do not only consist of Airbnb hosts, but also many national and international actors who aim to make a profit on housing thanks to the short-term accommodation platform. In addition to Airbnb hosting, the involvement of actors such as individual investors and investor companies can be summarized as the trends that make Airbnb stand out in the financialization of housing. As Keleş stated (2021), “fundamental rights and freedoms are a whole, including the right to housing.” Financialization of housing; The fact that a living space ceases to be a social space and is handled as a means of making profit, and the global diversification of the actors involved in this process, makes it necessary to bring the necessity of securing rights-based housing back to the focus of discussions on the housing problem. The capacity of these discussions to produce holistic solutions can only be possible by taking into account the new digital actors emerging with the current technological developments in these discussions.
 
We congratulate Gökçe Uzgören for her academic achievements and wish her continued success.